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Nassau County authorities seized 312 kilograms of suspected cocaine at a Holiday Inn in Plainview and arrested two Florida men in what officials on Tuesday called one of the largest drug busts in county history.
Michael Viera, 40, and Daniel Santana, 35, both of Deland, Florida, were arrested just before 9 p.m. on Thursday at the hotel on Sunnyside Boulevard, Nassau County Police said.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced the bust, emphasizing the significant street value of the seized narcotics and the scale of the operation.
The arrests are the product of an investigation conducted by the police department’s Narcotics Vice Squad with help from the Criminal Intelligence Rapid Response Team (CIRRT). Detectives had been observing the two men at the hotel before recovering the substantial cocaine cache, authorities said.
The defendants are charged with first- and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. They were arraigned Sunday at Nassau’s First District Court in Hempstead.
Top: NCPD
