Meth In Manhattan: PA Men Arrested In Big Downtown Bust, Officials Say

NEW YORK CITY – At approximately 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, authorities stopped a black Chevrolet Tahoe near West Street and Battery Place in Lower Manhattan.

Inside the vehicle were Fernando Penaloza-Reyes, 43, who was driving, and Raul Cruz-Torres, 41, who was sitting in the passenger seat, officials said.

Behind the men, in the backseat, were two large duffel bags, according to officials.

Authorities took both Penaloza-Reyes and Cruz-Torres into custody, and almost seven hours later, obtained a court-authorized search warrant, which enabled them to see what was inside those mysterious duffels.

The contents?

More than 110 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, worth approximately $600,000 on the street, according to officials, in one of the largest methamphetamine seizures to result in charges by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP).

Both men, who gave Reading, Pennsylvania, as their residence, were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the second degree – a felony.

However, since under New York State law possession of methamphetamine, regardless of the quantity, is not a bail-eligible offense, both men were immediately released after arraignment without any bail being set.

“Methamphetamine, sometimes mixed with fentanyl, is claiming an increasing number of lives in our state and nation,” said SNP Bridget G. Brennan.

“Preventing more than 100 pounds of the drug from reaching our streets will save precious lives and prevent vulnerable communities from experiencing its destructive impact.”

The investigation was handled by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF), SNP’s Investigators Unit, and Group T-23, which is made up of agents and officers with the DEA New York Division, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the New York State Police.

Results of a DEA lab analysis of the seized methamphetamine are pending.