It was a scene straight out of a crime movie -- but this was real.
In the video above, which provided by officials, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations in New York are seen busting 17 individuals for their alleged roles in a narcotics trafficking ring operating in Long Island.
The complaint was unsealed on Tuesday charging 17 members of a criminal organization based in Suffolk County and the Bronx with conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine and marijuana, primarily on Long Island, officials said.
In a coordinated operation Monday night and earlier today, more than 300 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers arrested 16 defendants in the Bronx, Long Island, and Queens, officials said. One additional defendant was already in custody on state charges.
The following 16 defendants were arrested during this operation:
Andres Marroquin-Corzo, aka Alex Lnu, aka Alex Rodriguez, aka Alexi Rodriguez, Ercilio Antonio Marine, aka Tony, Rolando Carmenante, aka Rolando Carmentate, aka Flaco, Huascar Figuereo, aka Ramon Lnu, aka El Gordo, Fausto Collado, Freddy Martinez, Rafael Perez, aka Gordo, Aida Sandoval, aka The Girl, aka Chiquita, Natalia Areiza, Alexander Morales, Hipolito Roldan, aka Paulie, Denny Rodriguez, Yunery Marine, Juan Carlos Ferrera and Engenio Solarzano-Lameda, aka Cuba.
The defendants were expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court later on Tuesday. Luis Felipe Andujar-Rivera, aka Mario, will be transferred from state to federal custody at a later date.
"Drug trafficking organizations must be aggressively attacked and dismantled at every level - from the street dealer to the international supplier and drug lord," said ICE-HSI Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr. "Through the coordinated efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we have effectively eradicated an organization responsible for bringing significant quantities of drugs into our communities."
