Federal, Local Officials to Announce Charges against 29 Alleged Rockland County Drug-Traffickers

Federal narcotics charges against 17 individuals, and related state charges against 12 additional individuals for allegedly operating an oxycodone and heroin trafficking ring in and around Rockland County are being unveiled today.

A press conference is scheduled for 11AM at the Rockland County Courthouse in New City.

According to the federal indictment, a loose drug-trafficking organization was operating in Rockland from early 2014 until this month, primarily distributing oxycodone and heroin. It was led by, among others, Victor Esteban, who is named with 16 others in a federal indictment unsealed today.

Oxycodone prescriptions are valuable because the pills can be resold for so much money.

“For example, 30-milligram oxycodone tablets have a street value of approximately $20 to $30 per tablet in the Rockland County area,” according to the indictment.

Forged prescriptions were manufactured and filled by members and affiliates of the organization in pharmacies across New York State. They even posed as doctors if a pharmacist called.

Hundreds of undercover drug buys were allegedly made at Hudson Valley shopping malls and hotels. Two primary locations where the drugs were sold were the parking lot of the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack and the Mount Ivy Trailer Park in Pomona.

They used social media for messages and celebratory videos.

Officials at the press conference are expected to include:

• Thomas Zugibe, Rockland County District Attorney
• Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
• Chris Roberts, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration
• Ed Day, Rockland County Executive