BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY February 23, 2020 8
Police seize major cache of guns/heroin; 5 busted
BY JASON COHEN
A major drug and gunrunning
operation was busted
last week sending fi ve people
to the slammer.
On Thursday, February
13, NYS Attorney General
Letitia James and the police
announced a 107-count indictment,
charging fi ve individuals
for their roles in a gun
traffi cking operation that illegally
sold 16 fi rearms in the
Bronx, including four assault
weapons, 11 high-capacity
ammunition-feeding devices,
hundreds of rounds of ammunition
and heroin.
Luis Alsina, Michael
Alsina, Miguel Rodriguez,
Josue Pagan-Adorno and Rafael
Cruz were charged with
traffi cking numerous assault
weapons, semiautomatic pistols,
revolvers, criminal sale
of a fi rearm, criminal possession
of a weapon and conspiracy
for their participation in
the illegal gun traffi cking operation.
All of the individuals are
from the Bronx, except Pagan
Adorno.
The Alsinas were charged
Guns that the attorney general’s offi ce and law enforcement took off the streets last week in a big bust. Photo Courtesy NYAG Offi ce
with various counts pertaining
to the sale of approximately
250 grams of heroin
and charged with criminal
sale of a controlled substance
and criminal possession of a
controlled substance, as well
as conspiracy for their participation
in an illegal heroin
distribution scheme.
“Let these arrests serve
as a loud and clear message:
there is zero tolerance for
gun traffi cking in New York,”
James said. “These fi ve individuals
allegedly made a business
of fl ooding our communities
with dangerous weapons
- including assault weapons
-and drugs, putting our city in
harm’s way. I thank our partners
in law enforcement for
their invaluable support and
help to ensure the safety of all
New Yorkers.”
The investigation, dubbed
‘Operation Iron Empire,’ included
the use of physical and
electronic surveillance and
undercover operations.
During the course of the
recorded transactions, the defendants
allegedly referenced
their ability to obtain guns
from Pennsylvania and bring
them into New York to be sold.
According to the indictment,
Michael Alsina acted as
a broker between his fi rearms
suppliers and undercover offi -
cers, to whom he sold fi rearms
and/or ammunition on 10 occasions
between June 22, 2019
and Nov. 12, 2019.
Luis Alsina provided the
fi rearms and/or ammunition
to Michael Alsina for seven
of those 10 sales and also sold
fi rearms to undercover offi -
cers on three other occasions
from June 22, 2019 through December
27, 2019.
Rafael Cruz supplied two
fi rearms for sales brokered by
Michael Alsina, while Josue
Pagan-Adorno and Miguel
Rodriguez transported fi rearms
for sale to undercover
offi cers.
The indictment also alleges
that Luis Alsina and Michael
Alsina combined to sell
approximately 250 grams of
heroin to undercover offi cers
on four occasions spanning
from August 7, 2019 through
September 5, 2019.
Bronx District Attorney
Darcel Clark praised James
and law enforcement for their
efforts.
“We will not tolerate illegal
fi rearms getting into the
hands of criminals,” Clark
said.
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