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Jose A. “Hippie” Mercedes, 46, of Bronx River Road in Yonkers, was arrested Sunday on charges of being the head of a multimillion-dollar heroin trafficking operation, according to the DEA.
Mercedes is charged with one count of operating as a major trafficker and one count of first-degree possession of a controlled substance, court records show.
Mercedes and his accomplices are believed to have been the main source of heroin for not only people in the New York City area, but also residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, the DEA said.
Sunday’s raid happened in an apartment and a vehicle near Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and federal officials seized an estimated 154 pounds of heroin, $2 million in cash and a firearm, according to the DEA.
The heroin, which law enforcement officials believe was trafficked from Mexico, has an estimated street value of $50 million, the DEA said.
That not only represents the largest official seizure of heroin in New York state, but the fourth-largest in the entire country, according to the DEA.
“The $50 million street value of the heroin in this case is a conservative estimate,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said in a press release.
“To put it in perspective, this load was so large it carried the potential of supplying a dose of heroin to every man, woman and child in New York City.
“While this important seizure stopped a huge amount of heroin from flooding our city, it also highlights the critical need to intercept heroin before it ever reaches our region.”
Mercedes and one of his alleged accomplices, 19-year-old Yenci Cruz Francisco of the Bronx, are being held without bail, according to court records.
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