A sophisticated crew of drug dealers “tricked out” a pair of Washington Heights pads with secret compartments and high-tech surveillance gear to stash more than $12 million worth of heroin and methamphetamine, authorities said Wednesday.
Three accused dealers who used the two apartments at 111 Wadsworth Ave. — strategically located near the George Washington and RFK bridges and I-95 for interstate distribution — were slapped with multiple drug charges after a raid on Monday.
In apartment 21E, investigators found $120,000 in a safe and discovered a “trap” or hidden compartment behind the wall of the bathroom, which was accessible only by removing four wall tiles.
Inside the trap, cops found 17 pounds of methamphetamine and shoe soles that had been ripped from several pairs of women’s footwear, according to a statement from Bridget Brennan, the city’s top narcotics prosecutor.
International drug dealers frequently use hollowed-out shoes to conceal narcotics being smuggled into the US.
Authorities also seized 100 grams of heroin from the pocket of a jacket inside a closet, as well as numerous cellphones, drug ledgers and an electric bill for apartment 10E in the same building.
Investigators later got a search warrant for 10E, where they found two pinhole cameras in a door frame that gave the dealers surveillance video showing both ends of a hallway leading to the apartments.
The video was stored on a DVR player, allowing the accused dealers to monitor everyone entering and leaving the building.
Inside the apartment, they found over 24 pounds of heroin hidden in a trap in a kitchen cabinet that could be accessed through a sliding panel on the back wall of the cabinet. They also found 11 pounds of heroin under a mattress and another 2 pounds hidden in part of a TV stand.
The total street value of the drugs — bound for sale in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts — was roughly $12.5 million, the authorities said.
Investigators had the place under surveillance Monday when they spotted Pablo Paulino, aka Ariel Rodriguez, 36, of 111 Wadsworth Ave., Apt. 4B, and Janeison Garcia, 18, of Orlando, Fla., leaving in a taxi about 4:30 p.m.
Cops busted the pair and then returned to the address, where they arrested Pedro Abreu, 55, of 3415 Ft. Independence St., Apt. 7B, in the Bronx. The raid on the second apartment took place about 9 p.m. after the warrant was obtained.
Investigators from the DEA and the NYPD along with Nassau and Suffolk County authorities had conducted a “long-term” investigation of the operation before Monday’s raid, according to the statement.
The trio was arraigned Tuesday night in Manhattan Criminal Court. Abreu and Paulino were held without bail, while bond was set at $250,000 for Garcia.