Monthslong Multi-Agency Drug Trafficking Probe Handed Off To The Dog

YONKERS, NY — Last minute Christmas shoppers might have noticed the commotion on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, just as the holiday break was starting. It turns out the wrapped packages being inspected by police weren't intended for under the tree.

Yonkers police say the large police presence was the result of a monthslong investigation by DEA Group D-42, a group of specialized narcotics agents, including Yonkers Police Department narcotics detectives.

The investigators were tracking narcotics being transported from New Jersey into the City of Yonkers. The DEA agents and YPD detectives surveilled and identified the location where they believed the narcotics and cash were going to change hands.

One of the suspects was driving a black pickup truck and arrived at the meeting place with the narcotics, but when Group D-42 moved in, the driver of the pickup truck fled, causing property damage to several vehicles along the way, officials said. The suspect was apprehended, and 2 kilos of narcotics were recovered, according to police.

A second vehicle connected to the foiled drug handover was also detained by the task force. A Yonkers Police Department K9 named "Hudson" was brought in and gave "a positive indication of narcotics inside the vehicle." A search of the vehicle revealed an additional 11 kilos of narcotics.

"Great work by our partners at the DEA, our YPD Detectives, and K9 Hudson," Yonkers Police Department officials said in a statement released on social media. "We value our relationships with our Federal Law Enforcement partners in our continued mission to keep the streets of Yonkers safe."

Authorities said a total of 13 kilos of illegal drugs were seized in the sting, including 5 kilos of cocaine and 8 kilos of heroin (7 of which contained fentanyl). The street value of these narcotics is estimated by police to be over $1.6 million.

The two men taken into custody at the scene were arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics.