Officials say a year-long investigation has helped put an end to a cocaine network that generated millions.
A parade of loot, bundles of cash, a bunch of bling, plus guns, and a cache of cocaine; just a sampling of the goodies confiscated as part of "Operation Hotline".
It was a year-long investigation targeting a cocaine retail-wholesale network concentrated in /*East Harlem*/.
"This business which sold more than 4,200 bags of cocaine, in one 45-day period, could have been delivering pizza," Manhattan District Attorney /*Cyrus Vance, Jr.*/ said.
The accused kingpin Ceferino, Papo Perez, is accused of enlisting an army of traveling cocaine salesmen operating via cell phone and using company cars to deliver $20 bags to customers.
The hotbed of activity was from 90th to116th Streets between 1st and 2nd Avenues.
Perez also allegedly ran a wholesale cocaine supply network with two other accused traffickers.
Cops rounded up a total of 22 people in a series of raids in the past couple of days, saying the organization generated $2 million a year.
"This is one organization is now gone, the workers, the cocaine, the phones, the cars, the cash, this empire is over," Vance said.
When they were toppling his empire, cops found this photograph on a nightstand in Perez' home.
The accused modern day drug kingpin had superimposed his head on the body of Tony Montana, the drug lord portrayed by Al Pacino in the movie, "Scarface".
"He's very proud of what he's doing obviously, he's quite arrogant, and narcissistic, I'll add that in, you know this is his business, this is what he does, he's been doing it his whole life, it's who he is," said Inspector Lori Pollock, NYPD.
