‘El Chapo’ branded heroin recovered in $5M bust
The ‘El Chapo’ stamp amoung others recovered by police.
Bronx DA’s Offi ce
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J BTR ULY 26-AUGUST 1, 2019 33
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Three kilograms of suspected
heroin and more than
250,000 individually packaged
glassine envelopes were confi scated
by police in the Bronx on
Friday, July 19.
More than just an average
drug bust though, many of
these packages were branded
with an ‘El Chapo’ stamp after
the Mexican drug lord that’s
expected to do life in prison.
The bust began when New
York Drug Enforcement Task
Force and other law enforcement
were conducting surveillance
in the vicinity of 3039
Wallace Avenue and Boston
Road on Tuesday, July 16.
Investigators observed a
black, Massachusetts registered
Toyota Corolla sedan
with a large shopping bag inside
the vehicle. After police
pulled the car over, they saw
one a large shopping bag on
the fl oor of the back seat of the
vehicle with a large number of
packages consistent with heroin
glassines visible.
The driver of the vehicle,
Luis Carmona-Ilarazza was arrested
as the bag was found to
contain approximately 70,000
individually packaged glassine
envelopes containing white
powder.
When police reviewed surveillance
video outside the
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Heroin recovered from the bust. Bronx DA’s Offi ce
Wallace Avenue apartment
building the next day, it showed
Joseph Medina-Hidalgo, give a
second man, later identifi ed as
Amaury Lora-Grullon, a large
suitcase.
Lora-Grullon then placed
the suitcase in the trunk of a
2013 black Toyota Camry before
entering the car outside of
the apartment building.
Another 17,000 individually
packaged glassines of heroin
were found inside the suitcase
in the trunk of the vehicle after
police pulled the car over,
arresting Lora-Grullon in the
process.
After attaining a search
warrant for Apartment 4D of
3039 Wallace Avenue,
Investigators dismantled a
fully functioning heroin mill
that contained the three kilograms
of heroin, an estimated
170,000 glassines of milled and
packaged heroin.
A substantial amount of
packaging equipment was
also recovered, including numerous
grinders used to process
the heroin, packagingmaterials
and 47 various stamps,
used to brand the heroin with
a variety of names, including
El Chapo, Dunkin Donuts,
Exit 4, Rolex, T Mobile, NBA,
Coca-Cola, Sleep Walking, Peter
Rabbit, Superman, Hello
Kitty, iPhone, KTM and Black
Hand.
The glassine envelopes of
heroin were piled on tables, in
bags and on the fl oor as well.
Most of the glassines were
already bundled into rectangular
packages that were wrapped
in white paper and plastic according
to brand name, ready
for delivery to the street.
Three kilograms in brick
form were found in bags
wrapped in cellophane.
The DEA estimated that the
black market value of the suspected
heroin at approximately
$5 million.
Results of laboratory analysis
of the seized narcotics are
pending.