From left to right: Muhammad Muriel, Furman Gilmore, Michael Richardson and Jessica Richardson. Photos via the New York State Police.
A large heroin trafficking operation based in the Greene County town of Cairo was uncovered by police on Wednesday, Sept. 23 in a raid that netted a huge amount of bulk and packaged heroin, according to a press release from the New York State Police.
Four people, including one man from the Bronx, were arrested after the State Police Special Operations Response Team and air units descended on 53 Lake Mills Road in Cairo on Wednesday.
Police seized 166 bags of heroin and 17 grams of bulk heroin, as well as eight grams of crack cocaine, according to the press release. Police say that the drugs would be worth about $15,000 on the street if sold.
Muhammad Muriel, a 37-year-old man from the Bronx, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and is being held in the Greene County Jail on $200,000 cash bail or $400,000 bond bail.
Furman Gilmore, a 42-year-old man from Cairo, was charged with the same offense and is being held at the jail on no bail.
Two other people, 38-year-old Michael Richardson and 30-year-old Jessica Richardson, both of Cairo, were also arrested in the bust. Both were charged with criminally using drug paraphernalia and with endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.
Michael Richardson was also charged with felony criminal nuisance in the first degree and is being held without bail in the Greene County Jail. Jessica Richardson has been released and will appear in court at a later date.
