5 1/2 Tons of Cocaine Uncovered at N.Y. Warehouse

An estimated 5 1/2 tons of cocaine inside hundreds of 10-gallon drums was discovered by agents who had to call in hazardous waste specialists for help because a toxic chemical was packed around the drug, authorities said Saturday.

The find, which followed a three-month investigation, occurred Friday night in a two-story warehouse in the borough of Queens, said Capt. James Rogers of the city Fire Department’s hazardous materials division.

No arrests were made in the raid conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Customs Service.

DEA regional head Robert Stutman, in a Saturday news conference at the warehouse, said the massive amount seized indicated just how much cocaine is being shipped into the country.

“You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out that we’re being flooded with cocaine,” said Stutman. “Certainly in New York, we have not seen any lessening of availability.”

Authorities estimate there were 11,000 pounds of cocaine, or 5 1/2 tons. When 20 tons of cocaine was seized last month in Los Angeles, authorities there gave its street value at up to $1 billion a ton.

The drug agents called Fire Department hazardous waste specialists when they discovered the drums also contained sodium hydroxide, a caustic powder that can burn skin and damage lungs, Rogers said. The cocaine was in plastic-wrapped bricks and the caustic substance was then poured in around it.

Firefighters opening drums at random found cocaine inside each one, and the warehouse held several hundred drums. Each container held about 15 kilos--roughly 33 pounds--of cocaine, Rogers said.

“They figure nobody’s going to look inside chemicals because when you open the drums, you expose yourself to toxic effects,” Rogers said.