A narcotics ring was busted Wednesday for using the US Postal Service to smuggle millions in heroin and cocaine hidden in packages of children’s toys and exercise equipment, officials said.
Bronx-based ring leader Ariel Lopez-Acosta and 12 cohorts were indicted for shipping $4.5 million worth of heroin and cocaine from Puerto Rico disguised in items like a child’s bracelet-making kit and a box of purple dumbbells, the feds said.
As agents arrived to arrest Lopez-Acosta Wednesday morning, he unsuccessfully tried to flee, authorities said. They reported seizing $100,000 in cash and $90,000 in jewelry from his Nelson Avenue home in the Highbridge section of The Bronx, along with a Range Rover.
The arrests show “no matter how clever” smugglers think they are,“sooner or later, that knock on the door won’t be the mailman,” said Angel Melendez, a federal agent.
View Slideshow
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.