Authorities arrested a New Jersey man after finding more than 580 pounds of cocaine at a Long Island City storage facility.
NEW YORK CITY, NY— New York City police and partner agencies seized more than 580 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $10 million from a Queens self-storage facility, disrupting what officials described as a major interstate trafficking network with suspected cartel ties.
The seizure, announced Friday, Aug. 28, followed a months-long investigation into high-level cocaine trafficking in New York and New Jersey. Authorities said about 266 kilograms of cocaine were recovered, making it the NYPD’s largest cocaine seizure in at least a decade. The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor said it appeared to be its largest single cocaine seizure in more than 20 years.
Investigators arrested Nelson Salcedo, 35, of Englewood, New Jersey, after allegedly watching him load cardboard boxes from a self-storage facility on Northern Boulevard in Long Island City into a gray Nissan van on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Officers and agents searched the vehicle and surrounding area and recovered 19 boxes containing about 266 one-kilogram packages of suspected cocaine, authorities said.
Salcedo was charged with first- and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court, prosecutors said. The charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Publicly available reports did not identify an attorney who could immediately comment on his behalf.
Police said investigators had been monitoring suspected drug movements before the Queens seizure. During about two weeks of surveillance, authorities allegedly saw Salcedo delivering weighted cardboard boxes near the northern end of Central Park. Investigators also observed another person making similar deliveries, according to law enforcement accounts. Authorities said at least one suspected recipient remained at large.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the cocaine had been positioned to move into a wider illegal distribution network. She called the seizure the department’s largest involving cocaine in at least a decade and said investigators relied on surveillance, vehicle tracking and intelligence gathering before moving in at the Long Island City facility.
The investigation involved the NYPD, Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey State Police and the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor. A DEA official said investigators believe the trafficking operation traces back to a cartel, but authorities have not publicly identified a specific cartel or detailed the evidence behind that connection. Officials have described the organization as an interstate network with links in New York and New Jersey.
Authorities said three people have been taken into custody during the broader investigation. Salcedo is the defendant publicly identified in connection with the Queens seizure, while officials have released limited information about the other people detained. Law enforcement officials said additional suspects are being sought as investigators work to determine where the cocaine originated, who controlled the shipment and where it was intended to be distributed.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said the quantity represented an unusually large cache for New York City. Officials also pointed to the risks associated with cocaine being mixed with fentanyl or other substances before street-level distribution. Prosecutors said cocaine is present in more than half of overdose deaths in New York City, often in combination with other drugs.
The investigation remains active, and authorities said they expect additional arrests and drug seizures as agents and detectives continue examining the trafficking network. No final determination about the organization behind the shipment or the identity of the alleged cartel has been publicly announced.
Author note: Last updated August 29, 2026.