Bensalem police arrest 2, seize drugs worth $11.7 million
It was one of the biggest drug busts in county history, authorities said. A K-9 dog sniffed out the heroin and methamphetamine in a tractor-trailer on Street Road. \
Bensalem police arrest 2, seize drugs worth $11.7 million
A Bensalem Township police officer on routine patrol with his K-9 dog made one of Bucks County’s biggest drug busts on Sunday, seizing heroin and methampehamine worth $11.7 million, authorities said Monday.
The 15 kilos of heroin and 20 pounds of “very pure crystal methamphetamine” were not earmarked for Bensalem, “but they were earmarked for the Delaware Valley,” township Public Safety Director Fred Harran said at a news conference.
“I can’t imagine how many lives were saved last night of people overdosing on this stuff,” Harran said, with the plastic-wrapped bricks of drugs lined up neatly in front of him. “There’s a lot of people not going to get high this week.”
The drugs were found after Officer Brian Cowden, a 10-year veteran of the force, pulled over a tractor-trailer with California license plates and registration on Street Road, and his police dog, Edo, sniffed out the narcotics, Harran said.
The driver, Estaban Zalazar Velasco, 35, of Galt, Calif., and passenger, Juan Ledesma-Nolasco, 48, of Livermore, Calif., were arrested and arraigned before District Justice Joanne V. Kline. They were each being held Monday on $1 million bail in Bucks County Prison, on felony charges of criminal conspiracy and the manufacture, delivery, possession and intent to deliver controlled substances.
Cowden “was in the right spot, saw something he didn’t like, and moved on it,” Harran said.
The officer was on an “unrelated detail” at State Road and American Drive when he saw the two men “walking around suspiciously,” Harran said. After they drove off in the 18-wheeler, Cowden noticed several vehicle violations and pulled them over, Harran said.
Edo, a 2 ½-year-old Belgian Malinois trained to detect narcotics, sniffed out the heroin and methamphetamine in the truck’s sleeping compartment, Harran said.
The heroin has a street value of $9 million, and the methamphetamine is worth $2.7 million, Harran said.
The methamphetamine appeared to have come from Mexico, he said. “It’s not typical Pennsylvania methamphetamine.”
Police are still investigating where the drugs came from and the route the two suspects took to Bensalem. The tractor-trailer was being held in the police department’s impound lot.
“These kinds of drugs are the reasons for the shootings, beating and robberies you see on the news every night,” Harran said. “This is going to put a dent in someone’s business.”
In 2009, Cowden received the county’s Outstanding Police Performance Award from the Citizen's Crime Commission of the Delaware Valley. At that time, he had confiscated more than $500,000 used in illegal narcotics traffic, plus drugs “that were passing through our township for distribution in the Delaware Valley,” according to Bensalem’s newsletter.
Cowden was not available for comment.
BENSALEM HAS GONE TO @#%* ...WONDER WHO THESE GOODIES WERE GOING TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO? NOT TO MANY BROTHERS UP THAT END...— elbe2k- they were driving a truck down Street Rd...that runs from Bucks thru Montgomery...They got caught in Bucks...probably on their way to I -95 to PHILLY... — fbpdplt
- Velasco and Nolasco. That's funny.— hunglikeaton
- People who live in bensalem act like its sooo much nicer then philly.— Bill E. Penn
- They will be identified as illegal immigrants. Their excuse will be that they were picking crops. They will be given refuge by Obama saying that they were brought here illegally be their parents and are entitled to public defenders with translation services. As our tax $ defends them against their crimes they will be given food, medicine and money by federal resources in order to uphold the dignity of the oppressed and add 2 more votes to Obamas ticket. After charges are dimissed they will be given union jobs in the city of killadelphia and new social security numbers (different from the ones they stole)yo freeload off the system for eternity while they plot moving their 500 relatives to Arizona since Illegals are now free to do anything they want due to Obama's hands off policy. Welcome to America !— blombard
Comment removed.- Mindless rants from clowns like blombard continue to demonstrate the level of blatant ignorance among certain segmnts of the population. I'm sure you are more upset about not getting your fix this week than the suspects' political affiliation. — lalaw9833
- If Bensalem would just sell the 11 million worth of heroin, they could put the township budget on even keel. Is there any law againt it ????— rduexpress
- They will be identified as illegal immigrants. Their excuse will be that they were picking crops. They will be given refuge by Obama saying that they were brought here illegally be their parents and are entitled to public defenders with translation services. As our tax $ defends them against their crimes they will be given food, medicine and money by federal resources in order to uphold the dignity of the oppressed and add 2 more votes to Obamas ticket. After charges are dismissed they will be given union jobs in the city of killadelphia and new social security numbers (different from the ones they stole)they will then freeload off the system for eternity while they plot moving their 500 relatives to Arizona since Illegals are now free to do anything they want due to Obama's hands off policy. They will all register as democrats..Welcome to America!— blombard
- They're just doing the drug dealing that Americans won't do.— LouDiamondPhillipsheadScrewdriver
- Man some people really listen to those fox news talking points and run with it!— relaxUhadURchance
- Actually Fox News is generally in favor of open borders , it just isn't as blatant about it as Obama , and Fox News icons McCain and Bush were . Congressman Tom Tancredo , when he was in his last terms , was not welcome at the White House , thanks to orders from Karl Rove , another clueless lover of illegal immigrants , because of Tancredo's work trying to secure our lawless border with Mexico .— publius sempronius tuditanus
- Does anyone know what the police said about all this?— mattparis
- right wing rages. how did obama get put in this drug bust story? because right wing rages see liberal conspiracies everywhere.
why bother with the facts when you have fox news?— the lopez! - Yeah, between 2000-200, All Bush criticism was always only on articles specifically about Bush. The left was always so respectful. Nothing but class when criticising Bush.
BTW, if these guys do turn out to be illegal, our Federal government are the first ones to blame.— towelie
