Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Photos: $12 Million In Heroin And Crystal Meth, Plus $120K Cash, Found In Washington Heights Apartment
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2014
Modified Apr 16, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Special Narcotics Prosecutor's Office
View all 10
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2014
Modified Apr 16, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
If you're running a drug ring in your apartment, one of the problems you run into is where to store your drugs. Discreetly. For some enterprising dealers in Washington Heights, it involved some DIY home reno work: They decided to create "traps"—aka secret compartments—all over two apartments. For one, they removed four bathroom tiles to hide 17 pounds of crystal meth and then, in another apartment's kitchen, they stashed 24 pounds of heroin in a cabinet trap.
The authorities, including NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and DEA Acting Special Agent In Charge James Hunt, announced the arrests of Pablo Paulino, Pedro Abreu and Janeison Garcia, who are all charged with drug possession. The trio were busted on Monday, after agents saw them enter and leave 111 Wadsworth Avenue "repeatedly" and "carrying bags." And then they looked in their apartments.
In apartment 21E, there was a safe in the bedroom that had $120,000 cash, plus the bathroom "trap" with 17 pounds of crystal meth as well as shoe soles, which are used to conceal drugs during trafficking. The authorities also found 100 grams of heroin in a jacket that was in a closet, plus burners, drug ledgers and an electrical bill for apartment 10E.
When they got to apartment 10E (after they got a search warrant), investigators encountered a "sophisticated counter surveillance system" which included pinhole cameras in the front door's frame; footage of the hallway was displayed on a monitor in the apartment's hallway and also recorded to a DVR. Inside the apartment, they found the 24 pounds of heroin bricks in a kitchen cabinet trap, which was only accessible by a sliding panel hidden behind the shelves; 11 pounds of heroin in between the mattress and box spring in the bedroom; 2 pounds of heroin in a TV stand; 5 pounds of heroin in a hidden bathroom compartment; and packaging materials and presses to make heroin bricks.
All together, $12 million in heroin and $500,000 in meth was seized. The authorities believe that the traffickers picked Washington Heights as a location because it's easy to access Long Island and points outside the city via the George Washington Bridge, Interstate 95 and the RFK Triborough Bridge. Abreu and Paulino are being held without bail while Garcia's bail was set at $250,000.
Tagged
crime
drug trafficking
drugs
stash apartment
Washington Heights
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
More than 122,000 cases are being recalled over undeclared food dyes.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 5, 2026 at 4:36 p.m. ET
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
News
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYPD detective forced to retire after false statements in Brooklyn investigation
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani faces pressure to forge ahead with plan to fix polluting South Bronx market
By
Elizabeth Kim
Dominican man who shot border patrol officer in NYC sentenced to 15 years in prison
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .