Three people were arrested and charged for allegedly operating a drug trafficking scheme out of a Soundview pizzeria in the Bronx, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced this week, after recovering more than 100 pounds of narcotics with an estimated street value of $4 million.
Authorities booked Zulema Cardenas Espinoza, 53, Alexander Samboy, 45, and Rosendo Perez Guadencio, 47, each on one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree and one count in the third degree. Perez Guadencio also faces one count of operating as a major trafficker.
According to the DEA, investigators conducted surveillance on Mexzzarella Pizza, located at 553 Soundview Ave. — which sits right across from P.S. 69 Journey Prep School — on Thursday, Oct. 19, when they observed Perez Guadencio and Cardenas Espinoza take a seemingly weighted shopping bag from their car to the inside of the pizzeria around 10:15 a.m.
Then just after noon authorities spotted Samboy enter Mexzzarella with what looked like an empty backpack, just to leave less than 20 minutes later with the same backpack — only this time it looked “heavily weighted,” according to the DEA’s investigation. Officials followed Samboy as he left the pizzeria by car and pulled him over in front of 788 Metcalf Ave., less than a mile from Mexzzarella. After conducting a search of his car, officers recovered five kilograms of suspected cocaine.
Back at the pizzeria, officers made contact with Perez Guadencio and Cardenas Espinoza and detained them. Around 5:45 p.m. officers conducted a full search of Mexzzarella, and came across 42 kilograms of suspected cocaine, one kilogram of heroin and fentanyl, 1,000 glassine envelopes of oxycodone and fentanyl, rocks of cocaine, a kilo press, 100 vials of suspected crack cocaine, a “yellow powdery substance” on the floor, and around $40,000 from the basement of the storefront.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said on social media that the bust was “disgusting” and “outrageous.”
“Where is the regard for our children, youth, seniors and families in our communities?” she wrote. “It’s sickening that children were potentially exposed to illegal drugs in their own community across the street from a school.”
According to the DEA, vials were stored near the pizza counter at Mexzzarella.
“This drug trafficking organization was cooking up more than pizza in the Bronx,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino. “The large stash of cocaine found in the basement of Mexzzarella Pizza is very significant because it had the potential to supply drug networks throughout the Northeast. Cocaine is being laced with fentanyl, which is contributing to poisonings and unnecessary deaths in New York and across the country.”
The trio was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court last week, according to the DEA. Perez Guadencio was remanded, according to the investigation, and Cardenas Espinoza and Samboy were released on a $150,000 cash/bond bail with a 72-hour surety and passports surrendered.
Reach Camille Botello at cbotello@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
