Putnam Sheriff’s Deputies Seize $200K Worth of Heroin
Two kilos of heroin have been taken off the streets in Putnam County as the result of an investigation by county and federal law enforcement agencies looking into drug trafficking in the Brewster area.
Fransisco Osorio Sagastume, 18, of Eastview Avenue in Brewster and Eduardo Paiz-Ortega, 21 of Oak Street in the Village of Brewster were arrested on December 8th according to a statement by Putnam County Sheriff Donald Smith.
According to the Sheriff, Sagastume was taken into custody on the evening of Dec. 8 after the vehicle he was driving was pulled over by sheriff's deputies and investigators. Deputy Sheriff Irwin and his K-9 partner Kato assisted in searching the vehicle which led to the discovery of one kilogram of heroin in the car. A short while later, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the apartment occupied by Paiz-Ortega. The suspect was placed in custody while the search turned up another kilo of heroin.
The seizure, according to investigators is one of the largest in Putnam County and the heroin has a street value of more than $200,000. Senior Investigator Thomas Corless, head of the Sheriff's Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit credits a caller's tip to the Sheriff's Office Drug Hotline (945-225-DRUG) as the cause for the investigation. The investigation widened and was joined by the Putnam County District Attorney's Office, Westchester District Attorney's Office, the US DEA, and the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
Both defendants were charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree which is a class A-1 Felony punishable by up to twenty years in prison. Additional charges are expected to follow.