3 White Plains Men Arrested For Drug Trafficking In NYC

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Three men from White Plains were among 11 people arrested for drug trafficking. Queens Acting District Attorney John M. Ryan said in a press release Thursday that the arrests resulted in the largest seizure of a drug that is 100 times more deadly than fentanyl — carfentanil.

Giovanny Arias, 49, Hector Maren, 46, and Victor Salazar, 59, all of White Plains, were arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on a 23-count indictment charging them with operating as a major drug trafficker.

The charges include first-, third- and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia.

If convicted, they face up to 25 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors said Alexis Victorero, of Milford, Massachusetts, was driving a truck that was stopped by police before getting on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in Nyack. Authorities said they recovered 28 pounds of cocaine, more than 2 pounds of a mixture of fentanyl and tramadol, more than 2 pounds of heroin and more than 1,500 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

Victorero was charged with first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, and is being prosecuted by the Rockland County District Attorney's Office. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Arias was identified as the main defendant, heading up the operation, by the district attorney's office.

Authorities said Arias and his co-defendants operated, between July 2018 and September 2019, a nationwide drug enterprise utilizing long-haul drivers who transported drugs from the southern border of California to New York City.

The investigation recovered six firearms, 68 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of fentanyl, 11 pounds of carfentanil, 8 pounds of heroin, in addition to various quantities of katemine and tramadol.

Through court-authorized wiretaps, authorities said valuable insight into the organization was gained, including how drugs were being transported by long-haul truckers locally and across the country.

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