312 Kilos Of Cocaine Worth $20M Seized In Holiday Inn Bust: Police

MINEOLA, NY. — Two Florida men could face drug trafficking charges after being caught with over 600 pounds of cocaine in the parking lot of a Plainview Holiday Inn last week, authorities announced Tuesday.

Nassau County police and prosecutors said Michael Viera, 40, and Daniel Santana, 35, both Deland, FL residents, were caught with 312 kilograms of cocaine — equal to about 687 pounds — Thursday, Jan. 29, at 8:45 p.m. Both men, police said, have prior homicide arrests in Puerto Rico on their record.

Authorities said the men were parked outside the Sunnyside Boulevard Holiday Inn in a black pickup truck when police saw another vehicle pull up next to the truck and conduct what police believed to be a drug transaction.

Upon investigation of the truck, police said they found multiple kilograms of cocaine in the front seat of the truck. Police placed Santana and Viera under arrest, Commissioner of Police Patrick Ryder said, then investigated the rest of the truck. Further investigation of the truck, Ryder said, revealed the remainder of the cocaine, stored in a set of six suitcases in the trunk.

District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the men were arraigned Friday, Jan. 30, and face first-and-third-degree charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance. The first degree charge, Donnelly said, is a Class-A felony with a sentence of 8-to-20 years in prison. The third degree charge is a Class-B felony with a sentence of up to nine years.

“We will be looking at upgrading these charges against these defendants, including the charge of operating as a major drug trafficker, which carries a potential life sentence," Donnelly said Tuesday.

Donnelly said this was one of the largest cocaine seizures she had seen in her 35-year career at the DA's office, and called the amount seized, “staggering.” Both men, she added, are due back in court Tuesday.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called the bust a “heads up operation” that was, “the largest drug bust the Nassau County police have had individually, without any assistance from federal, state or local authorities.”

Blakeman said the drugs were intended for distribution not only in Nassau County, but across the New York metro area.

“This is over $20 million in street value that was going to go out in our streets and affect the kids that were out there,” Ryder said.

Donnelly said the $20 million estimation was “conservative.”

“This massive amount of drugs, they were couriers,” Ryder said. “They must have just gotten this shipment and were getting ready to move this shipment. Drugs don’t stay long, they’ve got to get rid of them quickly.”

When asked if the men had any gang or organized crime affiliation, the DA and the police commissioner said an investigation was ongoing. When asked if the seized cocaine contained any fentanyl, Donnelly said a field test of the drugs determined they were cocaine, but that a sample of the drugs was being tested for additional substances that may or may not have been present. Authorities said an investigation into the men’s criminal histories, where the drugs had come from and where they were going was also ongoing.

According to Donnelly, the arrest was also an important signal.

"This tremendous arrest sends a very clear message to anyone attempting to traffic drugs in Nassau County: We are watching, and we are ready," Donnelly said. "If you try to move drugs through this county, you won't get far. And I promise you, what you will get is a date in front of a judge with one of my prosecutors."