Drug Trafficker Indicted: Two Firearms And $3 Million In Cocaine And Cash, Seized At Apartment Near Horace Mann School
MANHATTAN, N.Y. - Brian R. Crowell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement (DEA) New York Division and Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, announced today the indictment of a narcotics trafficker on drug and weapons charges stemming from the seizure of 31 kilograms of cocaine, $1.6 million in cash and two loaded semi-automatic pistols from an apartment in the Fieldston section of the Bronx.
Juan Rojas, 30, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Manhattan Supreme Court before Judge Bruce Allen. He faces charges of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree.
Rojas has been held without bail since his arrest on September 26, when DEA agents from Group D-34, investigators from the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and officers from the Port Authority Police K-9 Unit conducted a search of 244 Fieldston Terrace, Apt. 7A. The apartment complex abuts the Horace Mann School, a private school for youth from kindergarten through high school.
Prior to the search, agents had identified the apartment as a suspected drug trafficking location as part of an ongoing investigation. Rojas and his girlfriend, Ana Then, 20, were home when the agents arrived at the apartment at approximately 1:30 p.m.
The 31 kilos of (over 68 lbs.) were found inside a closet in the bedroom, wrapped in cellophane. Some of the kilos were covered in grease, which is commonly used by drug traffickers to help conceal the scent of narcotics from drug-sniffing dogs. A five-gallon tub of grease was also found in the apartment.
A kilo of cocaine carries a street value of up to $50,000, bringing the value of the shipment to more than $1 million. Investigators believe Rojas was trafficking approximately 50 kilos of cocaine per month.
Cash totaling approximately $1.6 million was recovered from inside two closets in the bedroom, as well as from a bag located inside a living room closet.
Under the bed, agents found two loaded firearms, including a CZ model 75 P07 9mm pistol and a Sig Sauer model P250 .40 caliber pistol, which was defaced. Additionally, the apartment contained a money counter, scales and drug ledgers.
On October 9, Ana Then pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Criminal Facilitation for keeping the apartment at 244 Fieldston Terrace in her name and is expected to receive a sentence of probation. She was not indicted.
Bridget G. Brennan thanked the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Investigators Unit and Special Investigations Bureau, DEA New York Division's Group D-34, the Bronx District Attorney's Office, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and the Port Authority Police K-9 Unit.
The charges and allegations are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
