NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, April 10, 2014, 7:42 PM
Updated: Thursday, April 10, 2014, 7:42 PM
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Suspected narcotics ring leader Juan Valdez (second from left) and Juan Bernal were busted after authorities found a kilo of cocaine in a building that housed a childcare. The mastermind of a drug ring that smuggled narcotics using the postal service and stored the contraband in several locations, including Bronx day care centers, was busted on Thursday, authorities said.
Juan Valdez, 45, was arrested inside a family member’s place, which houses the Sweet Home Child Care center on E. 184th St. in Fordham Heights, officials said.
Two others were also arrested in the sting. The trio joins two other men busted back in September when cops raided a three-story residential building housing Fun World Childcare, officials said.
Authorities found cabinets stuffed with cash, at least a kilo of cocaine and more than 1,000 Oxycodone pills in that raid, officials said.
Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News Ada Padilla is walked into Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday. She and two others were arrested for allegedly smuggling narcotics to New York City by using the postal service. Valdez hired couriers to travel by plane from JFK Airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico, carrying suitcases full of cash to pay for narcotics, officials said.
The drugs were sent by express mail and wrapped in children’s bedding. In December, postal officials found a kilogram of cocaine wrapped in SpongeBob SquarePants bedding, authorities said.
Valdez and his group smuggled between five and 10 kilograms of cocaine into New York City each month, authorities said. Each kilogram carrying an estimated street value of $ 60,000.
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The contraband was also stashed in several locations, including Valdez’s Yonkers home.
Nearly $ 300,000 in narcotics has been seized from the drug ring since August 2013, including nearly nine pounds of cocaine and 1,000 pills of Oxycodone, officials said. Authorities also recovered about $ 400,000 and a firearm.
Valdez pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges, including conspiracy and the possession and sale of controlled substances, officials said.
His associates, Juan Bernal and Ada Padilla, also pleaded not guilty, authorities said.
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