NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Westchester County Police arrested a Massachusetts man and seized 3.5 kilos of heroin following a traffic stop on Wednesday on the Hutchinson River Parkway in New Rochelle.
Dennis Burgos, 45, of Springfield, Mass., was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Degree, a felony. He was arraigned today in New Rochelle City Court and was ordered held without bail at the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
The heroin has an estimated street value of $100,000.
The incident began about 1 p.m. when Officer Christian Gutierrez stopped a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica on the northbound Hutch at Webster Avenue after observing a traffic violation.
In speaking with the driver, Gutierrez observed alterations had been made to the interior of the vehicle, an indication that a possible trap, or hidden compartment, had been installed.
Gutierrez then deployed his canine partner Jax, a narcotics detection canine. Jax indicated the presence of illegal narcotics in the rear cargo area of the vehicle and the driver was taken into custody for additional investigation.
After the vehicle was towed to county police headquarters in Hawthorne, a warrant was obtained to conduct a search. The heroin was located in a hidden compartment where Jax had indicated narcotics would be found.
“Officer Gutierrez and Jax have regularly intercepted illegal narcotics being transported on our parkways,” Commissioner George N. Longworth said. “I commend Officer Gutierrez and Jax for another job well done.”
In March, an investigation by Gutierrez and Jax on the Hutch lead to the seizure of 4,500 Oxycodone and Percocet pills valued at $180,000. A week earlier, Gutierrez and Jax teamed up in the arrest of a Texas man found with marijuana and a stolen handgun in his car.