Heroin Seized, Brewster Men Charged

BREWSTER, NY — Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that a large quantity of heroin has been seized and two young men from Brewster have been arrested following a joint investigation by county and federal law enforcement into local drug trafficking. According to investigators, it is one of the largest such seizures of the drug ever recorded in Putnam County.

Francisco R. Osorio Sagastume, 18, of 20 Eastview Ave. and Eduardo Paiz-Ortega, 21, of 26 Oak St., were arrested Dec. 8.

Sagastume was taken into custody on Friday evening after he was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies and investigators as he was driving a vehicle in the village. Deputy Sheriff Christopher Irwin and his K-9 partner Kato assisted in searching the vehicle and reportedly found about one kilo of heroin in it.

Paiz-Ortega was arrested later on Friday evening, when authorities armed with a search warrant went to his apartment in Brewster and took him into custody. A search of that apartment reportedly yielded another kilo of heroin.

The combined quantities of heroin seized in the case have an estimated street value of $200,000.

Senior Investigator Thomas Corless, who heads the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit, credited a caller’s tip to the Sheriff’s Office Drug Hotline (845-225- DRUG) for initiating the investigation in the case. As the investigation progressed, it widened to involve the joint efforts of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorneys’ Office for the Southern District of New York.

The defendants were arrested on state charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, a class A-I felony that could be punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment upon conviction. The investigation is continuing and additional charges are expected to be filed in the case.

PHOTO: Deputy Irwin and K-9 Kato with the heroin seized in the case/ Putnam County Sheriff's Office