Massive Drug And Ghost Gun Bust On New York State Thruway

A traffic stop on I-87 in the Hudson Valley turned into a major drug and weapons bust.

It started with a routine traffic stop.

New York State Thruway Drug Bust In The Hudson Valley

On March 24th, just before 3 p.m., troopers from the Troop F Community Stabilization Unit spotted a 2011 Mercedes-Benz heading northbound on I-87 committing multiple traffic violations. It happened on Interstate 87 in the Town of Tuxedo.

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The driver was identified as 36-year-old Samuel Martinez of Amsterdam, New York. Two passengers were also in the car, 23-year-old Jahdell Young-Smith of Richmond, New York, and 25-year-old Zimair Tindal of Brooklyn.

New York State Police then deployed its K9 Anson. Anson conducted an exterior sniff of the vehicle and alerted to narcotics inside.

K9 Named Anson Helped Find Drugs, Ghost Gun, More

New York State Police allege they ended up finding a ghost gun, over a pound of marijuana, cocaine, oxycodone pills, and a 30-round extended magazine loaded with 31 rounds inside the gun

The search turned up approximately 5 grams of cocaine, multiple batches of oxycodone pills totaling more than 12 grams, and roughly 1,021 grams of marijuana. That's more than two pounds.

Plus a Polymer80 9mm pistol, a ghost gun, meaning it has no serial number and is untraceable. It was loaded with a 30-round extended magazine that somehow had 31 rounds stuffed into it.

All three were arrested and taken to State Police Monroe for processing.

Multiple Charges

Martinez, Young-Smith, and Tindal are all facing the same list of serious charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, and criminal possession of an extended magazine, among others.

Martinez was also hit with multiple traffic tickets on top of everything else.

All three were arraigned in Orange County. Martinez was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail. Young-Smith and Tindal are being held on $25,000 cash bail, $50,000 bond, or $100,000 partially secured bond.