NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Five people were charged Wednesday in a "sophisticated" plot to mail packages of cocaine hidden inside school lunchboxes from Puerto Rico to New York.
The New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office said "ringleaders" Carlos Duarte, 36, and Alexis Garcia, 41, allegedly shipped the packages from Puerto Rico to New York and Massachusetts in a 14-month scheme that ended in July.
Duarte, also known as "Showtime," was arrested at his Yonkers home early Wednesday morning. Authorities recovered multiple cellphones and 400 grams of a powdery-white substance — some of which tested positive for cocaine.
Garcia, known as "Ale G.," was arrested in front of a Yonkers recording studio with $12,000 on hand. A court-ordered search recovered $32,000 in cash, various records and a Rolex watch.
Both New York residents, the office's investigation found Duarte and Garcia worked as recording artist managers in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Duarte was charged with one count of operating as a major trafficker. The "ringleaders" both face charges for second-degree conspiracy, first-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance along with first and second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Raul Sweeney, arrested in the Bronx on Tuesday night, as well as Wesley Coddington and Bryan Centero-Rosado — who were busted previously — all face charges for their alleged involvement while under surveillance.
Coddington, also known as "Lucky," and Centero-Rosado are set to be arraigned on Nov. 17.
Officials said investigators found packages containing cocaine were shipped to Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Greene County and Massachusetts using fake identities as recipients or real names not associated with the address.
From May 2020 to April 2021, law enforcement linked the defendants' fingerprints to six packages, shipped using the U.S. Postal Service that contained a total of eight kilograms of cocaine concealed inside children’s lunchboxes and a zip binder, the office said.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan praised law enforcement's work in stopping their ongoing plot.
"Concealing narcotic drugs in children’s lunchboxes was the modus operandi for this organization," Brennan said. "If this tactic was designed to throw off law enforcement, it did not work. I commend the excellent investigation conducted with our partners for putting it out of business."
