Bensalem police seize six kilos of raw heroin in traffic stop
Bensalem police recently recovered six kilograms of raw heroin with a street value of $4 million during a routine traffic stop. Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub called it the “largest seizure I can recall this year.”
The seizure “certainly saved lives,” said Bensalem Director of Public Safety Fred Harran during a news conference Thursday at the township police station.
“Today is far form the beginning, and far form the end,” Weintraub said. “It serves as a highlight to indicate to you how committed we are here in Bucks County, and law enforcement, and in government, to fighting this scourge tooth-and-nail until we win.”
Police stopped a 2015 Toyota Tacoma in the in the area of Interstate 95 and Street Road for having illegal window tints between 5 and 5:30 p.m. Sept. 29. While police searched the vehicle, its three occupants began to spin tales that contradicted each other, Harran said.
A K-9 officer was called in and the dog alerted police to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. When officers informed the vehicle’s occupants of the K-9’s hit, Harran said, the driver fled on foot, but was apprehended soon after.
“In law enforcement, we call that a clue,” Harran said.
Police discovered a hidden compartment beneath the backseat of the truck and found the six kilograms of heroin, with a wholesale value of approximately $390,000 and a street value of approximately $4 million dollars, Harran said.
Police arrested the driver of the vehicle, Edward Torres, 30, of Philadelphia, and the two passengers, Sergio Arturo Maciel Landeros, 27, Alejandro Levya Granados, 41, both of Philadelphia.
Torres said he already was on house arrest in Camden, New Jersey, for a robbery and firearms violation, Harran said. He now faces charges of possession with intent to deliver drugs.
A follow-up investigation led police and the Drug Enforcement Agency to search a residence located in the 6200 block of Algard Street in Philadelphia, which uncovered about $50,000 and drug paraphernalia. Harran declined to give further details on the residence, claiming it is part of an ongoing investigation.
The three men were arraigned before District Judge Jean Seaman on Sept. 29 and remain Bucks County Prison in lieu of $1 million dollars bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17, before District Judge Michael Gallagher in Bensalem.