Two Florida men have been indicted as major drug traffickers after Nassau County police allegedly found 312 kilograms of cocaine inside their pickup truck at a Plainview hotel earlier this year, prosecutors said.
Daniel Santana, 36, and Michael Viera, 41, were arraigned on grand jury indictment charges of operating as a major trafficker, first- and second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
Both men pleaded not guilty before Judge Robert Bogle and were remanded. They are scheduled to return to court Nov. 13. If convicted, each faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
The case was first reported in February, when Santana and Viera were arrested following the seizure of 312 kilograms of suspected cocaine from a pickup truck at the Plainview hotel.
Prosecutors said Nassau County Police Department Narcotics and Vice Squad members were conducting an investigation outside the Holiday Inn on Sunnyside Boulevard in Plainview on Jan. 29 when detectives noticed a white Mercedes-Benz Maybach SUV stopped in the parking lot roadway.
A black Dodge Ram pickup arrived a short time later. Viera allegedly got out and moved a large suitcase from the truck bed into the back seat while manipulating several large items that investigators believed were packages of narcotics.
Viera then allegedly approached the Mercedes and handed a black package to its driver. The Mercedes drove away, and its driver refused to stop when police attempted to pull the vehicle over, prosecutors said.
Detectives approached the Dodge Ram, where Santana and Viera were standing near an open rear passenger door. Prosecutors said the men closed the door and began walking away.
Police looked inside the truck and allegedly saw an open suitcase containing between 40 and 60 black plastic-wrapped, brick-shaped packages consistent with kilogram quantities of narcotics. Santana and Viera were taken into custody.
Investigators later determined that Santana had booked a room at the Holiday Inn for that night and checked in at about 8:45 p.m., prosecutors said.
Police transported the Dodge Ram to an NCPD facility and searched it. Authorities said they recovered the open suitcase, another suitcase, several loose kilogram-sized bricks from storage areas inside the truck and four additional suitcases from the truck bed.
Testing by the Nassau County medical examiner’s chemistry section confirmed the substances were cocaine, prosecutors said. In total, investigators recovered 312 kilogram packages.
“Heads up police work ensured that these defendants, despite allegedly bringing more than 300 kilograms of cocaine into Nassau County, were never able to distribute their product on our streets,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly called it one of the largest cocaine seizures she has encountered during her career as a prosecutor.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Breanna Niranjan of the Narcotics, Firearms, and Gangs Bureau.
The charges are accusations, and Santana and Viera are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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