LI NYPD Officer Aided Cocaine Smuggling Ring: Prosecutors

HAUPPAUGE, NY — A New York City police officer from Long Island and four other men from the area were arrested Monday in connection with a drug trafficking organization that distributed drugs in New York City and the Dominican Republic, authorities said.

The officer, Amaury Abreau, 34, of Hauppauge, along with Julio Bautista, 35, of Roosevelt, and Gustavo Valerio, 38, of South Ozone Park, were all arrested for conspiring to import and distribute cocaine, the Department of Justice said. The three were involving in the ring from at least January 2016 and October 2020, officials said.

Bautista and his relative, Cesar Diaz-Bautista, 43, of Roosevelt, were also charged with intent to distribute cocaine. A fifth person, Junior Ortiz, 29, of Uniondale, was charged with cocaine importation conspiracy.

“Abreu is a sworn law enforcement officer who abused his badge and brought shame to his brothers and sisters in blue with his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking organization," said Peter Fitzhugh, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York. "There is no such thing as being above the law and we will stop anyone who exploits their position in public trust to conduct illicit acts. Dismantling this dangerous criminal organization is critical to protecting the homeland and our communities and HSI, working with its law enforcement partners, remains committed to making sure that Abreu, along with his co-conspirators, will face the consequences of their actions."

According to officials, the drug trafficking organization would sneak drugs into the country in different ways: drug couriers took flights to the United States, drugs were hidden in mail and in trucks that came into the U.S. from Mexico, and drugs were hidden in produce shipments coming into the U.S. Officials said more than 350 kilograms of cocaine that belonged to the organization were seized by law enforcement since 2016.

Officials said Bautista and Valerio were high-ranking members of the organization responsible for the distribution of the cocaine once it arrived in New York. Abreu acted as an inside man for them, officials claim. They said he used his position in the New York Police Department to give information to them about law enforcement procedures, perform warrant checks on members of the organization and, on at least one occasion, distribute cocaine.

For example, on March 11, 2016, prosecutors said the organization sent Abreau a message with Valerio's name and information. An audit of the NYPD's arrest database showed that the same day, Abreau searched for Valerio's name. Officials say he had no legitimate law enforcement reason for doing so.

“Officer Abreu and his co-conspirators served as a direct pipeline for the importation and distribution of cocaine in our city, as we allege today," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney. "While Abreu’s principal role in the DTO was more behind the scenes than out on the street, his double-dealing method of providing information and guidance to those who were on the front line of the illegal enterprise put the lives and safety of both the citizens of this city and his fellow NYPD officers at risk. The law enforcement community has no tolerance for imposters like Abreu, and we’ll be the first to show them the door when they engage in illegal activity of this magnitude."