NEW YORK – A North Carolina man is accused of selling nearly 50 pounds of methamphetamine in Manhattan and Queens, prosecutors announced Friday.
Juvenal Andrade-Mora, 37, was arraigned Thursday night in Manhattan criminal court on one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree. The arraignment comes a day after Andrade-Mora was arrested on 155th Street in Manhattan following an undercover investigation, authorities announced.
After his court appearance, Andrade-Mora was released without bail under the law. Information from Andrade-Mora’s attorney was not immediately available.
According to New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, days before her arrest, Andrade-Mora traveled to the city from North Carolina to allegedly meet with an undercover officer Monday in Queens. Andrade-Mora allegedly provided the undercover with a kilogram of methamphetamine wrapped inside a green sweatshirt.
Andrade-Mora and the undercover officer also arranged for a second meeting and the sale of an additional 19 kilos for a wholesale price of $11,000 per kilo, or $220,000 combined, according to Brenna. Authorities allegedly used electronic surveillance devices to track Andrade-Mora’s return to North Carolina, then he traveled to Atlanta, before returning to New York on Wednesday.
It was on that day, authorities allege, that Andrade-Mora met the undercover officer on West 155th Street in Manhattan and directed the undercover officer to a black suitcase in front of a building, implying that the drugs were inside that suitcase.
Prosecutors say the undercover officer recovered the bag before Andrade-Mora was arrested.
Inside the suitcase, authorities found two plastic bags, each with multiple plastic bags inside that contained a white drug-like substance. The packages weighed around 21 kilograms and field tests revealed the substance to be crystal methamphetamine. However, the results of laboratory tests are pending.
According to prosecutors, the seized methamphetamine is believed to be from Mexico and has a street value of more than $2 million.
“Meth, a synthetic drug, is a potentially deadly stimulant that is increasing overdose deaths across the country, according to federal health officials. The increase in the volume of methamphetamine entering our city, most of it produced in Mexico, is staggering. Once here, it is mixed with other dangerous drugs and pressed into counterfeit pills,” Brennan said.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino III shared similar sentiments, adding that there has been an increase in methamphetamine-related drug trafficking.
“Synthetic drugs are the most powerful and dangerous drugs on the streets today,” Tarentino said. “Fentanyl and methamphetamine are man-made synthetic drugs that have been unleashed on the streets causing overdoses and deaths across the country. This year, the New York DEA has seized over 100% more methamphetamine than in 2020, signifying a worrying shift in New York’s drug trade toward methamphetamine.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the NYPD will continue to work to rid communities of illicit drugs.
“Illegal drugs like those seized in this investigation poison our communities and destroy lives,” Sewell said. “Our department works day and night to free
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