Guns, Teddy Bear Stuffed With Cocaine Found In NYC Home: Feds

THE BRONX, NY — A teddy bear stuffed with cocaine, an AR-15 rifle and a grenade launcher were among the items agents found in the home of a Bronx man who faces federal drug and weapons charges. Richard Laugel was arrested near his Baychester home Wednesday, a day after federal and local authorities found guns, pill-making equipment and explosives there, officials said.

Laugel, 38, had been free on bail awaiting trial for charges stemming from his attempt to blow up a car in the Bronx, officials said.

"He was not up to anything good," NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.

Customs and Border Protection agents at John F. Kennedy Airport seized a shipment of Xanax pills addressed to Laugel last September, sparking a federal investigation, said Frank Russo, the agency's port director.

Laugel ordered materials used to make pills from Canada and China, including a machine used to mark pills with the word "Xanax," according to a federal criminal complaint filed by a U.S. Homeland Security Investigations officer.

Suspecting he was distributing drugs, authorities searched Laugel's home Tuesday and ended up finding several weapons, including the AR-15, grenade launcher and two Glock pistols, along with silencers and other gun parts, the complaint says.

Also seized were pill-making materials, six unopened packages and the teddy bear, which held vials of about 30 grams of a powder that tested positive for cocaine, the complaint says.

Laugel had been released on $100,000 bail after his 2016 arrest for trying to blow up a car in the Bronx. He was set to go to trial next week on charges including arson and attempted murder, online court records show.

Law enforcement agents found materials similar to fireworks in Laugel's home, but it's uncertain what he planned to do with them, Shea said.

"We don’t have anything at this time that he had any plans to place another device," Shea said.

Laugel is set to be presented in federal court Wednesday afternoon on charges of possession with intent to distribute narcotics, possession of a defaced firearm and unlawful possession of firearm silencers.

(Lead image: Federal and local law enforcement agents found guns, pill-making equipment and cocaine in Richard Laugel's Bronx home on Tuesday. Photos by Noah Manskar/Patch)