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3 kilos of heroin, $4.1 million seized in multi-state drug ring, says ICE

NEW YORK — Three people allegedly part of a large drug trafficking organization were indicted last week and six pounds of heroin were seized, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

The three indicted were allegedly part of a ring that trafficked drugs throughout the country, starting in Texas and ending up in New York City and Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Bronx-based ringleader Jorge Pizarro and co-defendants Nelson Dejesus and Miguel Angeles were arrested on March 18 near a self-storage box in the Bronx.

ICE said that the heroin and other drugs were hidden inside furniture that Pizarro kept in the storage unit. ICE agents said that Pizarro and Dejesus moved furniture in and out on a near-monthly basis. Pizarro was traveled between New York City and Lawrence.

"The organization thought of every detail, from adding a tricycle to their stash of furniture in order to appear like a relocating family, to spraying the contents with repellant to ward off police K-9 units," said  DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt.

Along with the heroin, $4.1 million was seized when the men were arrested, also hidden inside the furniture, said police.

Law enforcement learned that the UHaul at the scene had been rented in Lawrence, Mass. by an individual who has not been apprehended and is also the owner of record for a Dodge Caravan at the storage unit.

The men are charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First and Third Degrees.

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