Bensalem Bust Yields $4.5 Million In Heroin, Fentanyl: Police

BENSALEM, PA — More than three kilograms of heroin mixed with the potentially deadly opioid fentanyl — worth an estimated $4.5 million on the street — was confiscated in a drug bust Saturday in Bensalem, according to police.

Three men, who police say were actively packaging the drugs when they arrived, were arrested on drug-dealing charges. They are identified as Jose Nieves Velez, 31, Emanuel Rodrigues-Santiago, 31, and Hamlet Bentacourt Pimentel, 38.

According to police, officers confiscated hundreds of newly packaged baggies suspected to be a mixture of heroin and fentanyl in addition to the three kilograms. There were numerous scales, rubber bands, stamps, grinders and packaging materials at the apartment in the 1200 block of Neshaminy Valley Drive.

Police also say they found about $40,000 in cash and Xylazine, a controlled substance used for sedating horses and cattle that can be used as a cutting agent when mixed with heroin or fentanyl.

All three men face multiple drug charges and are being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bail.

Also, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has placed detainers on Nieves Velez and Rodrigues-Santiago. Nieves Velez entered the country illegally, police say, and Rodrigues-Santiago is a previously deported convicted felon.

Betancourt Pimentel has resident alien status, according to police.