Overview
- Police displayed roughly $20 million in cocaine, totaling about 312 kilograms, in what the district attorney called the largest bust she has seen in decades.
- Michael Viera, 40, and Daniel Santana, 35, were arraigned on first- and third-degree possession charges and were remanded to jail.
- Narcotics officers said a Jan. 28 stakeout at the Plainview Holiday Inn led to a stop of a 2025 Dodge Ram, where bricks were seen in the front and hundreds of kilograms were found in suitcases in the back.
- District Attorney Anne Donnelly said charges could be upgraded to operating as a major drug trafficker, which can carry a potential life sentence, as investigators seek co-conspirators and supply routes.
- Police said both men are originally from Puerto Rico with prior homicide convictions there, a claim Viera’s attorney disputed while also questioning whether the search was legal.