A drug vendor’s “Cohiba” coke-concealing scheme went up in smoke, based on prosecutors.
A Brooklyn man caught with 20 kilos of cocaine value roughly $300,000 hidden in cigar packing containers with false bottoms was charged with a number of counts of drug possession in Manhattan Supreme Court docket Friday morning.
Jose Leonardo was arrested after authorities busted him with the large load of coke at his residence in Cypress Hills following a months-long investigation into interstate narcotics trafficking, prosecutors stated in court docket on Friday.
“Large shipments of narcotics are often creatively concealed — in this case cocaine was hidden underneath real cigars,” Particular Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan stated in an announcement.
Among the 20 kilos of cocaine allegedly seized by authorities. (Courtesy of the Workplace of the Particular Narcotics Prosecutor for NY)
Regardless of the inventive concealment, Brennan stated, “[T]his trafficking organization was no match for the diligent investigative work and effective collaboration demonstrated in this case.”
The drug bust was the results of a joint investigation by Brennan’s workplace, the NYPD, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Brooklyn District Legal professional’s Workplace.
On April 16, brokers and investigators tracked Leonardo as he allegedly drove a blue Nissan Rogue from his residence in Cypress Hills to New Jersey, the place he made a quick cease, then drove again to Brooklyn, the place he began unloading packing containers, prosecutors stated. After getting a search warrant, authorities recovered from his home and automotive three massive cardboard packing containers that contained 45 packing containers of cigars, prosecutors stated.
“Only by prying the wooden paneling off the underside of the boxes did agents discover false bottoms that concealed thin bricks of cocaine,” an announcement from Brennan’s workplace stated.
Investigators discovered equally sized bricks of ketamine in Leonardo’s bed room, prosecutors stated.
“This operation, which removed more than 9 kilos of cocaine hidden in the false bottoms of cigar boxes, underscores the investigative expertise that our special agents and law enforcement partners have in dismantling the schemes of treacherous drug traffickers” DEA Particular Agent in Cost Frank Tarentino stated in an announcement.
Added Brooklyn District Legal professional Eric Gonzalez, “The seizure of this massive quantity of cocaine makes Brooklyn safer and delivers a heavy blow to the drug-trafficking networks that poison our streets.”
If convicted, Leonardo faces between eight and 20 years in state jail.
He was launched in June on $100,000 bail with court-ordered digital monitoring.
Initially Revealed: September 5, 2025 at 9:38 PM EDT
