An NYPD bust that took $750,000 worth of heroin off the Washington Heights streets would not have been possible without stop-and-frisk, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday.
“On Saturday, a man threw a duffel bag into the trunk of a double-parked car in Washington Heights,” Kelly said. “When officers approached the man, he ran — that’s suspicious behavior.”
Cops then rolled up to 26-year-old driver Joancis Delacruz-Arias, who gave them permission to search the silver Nissan Altima.
Sgt. Brian Holshek and Officer Michael Walsh, both of the 34th Precinct Anti-Crime Unit, opened the duffel bag and found 20 pounds of the narcotic.
“They [officers] found $750,000 worth of heroin in the trunk,” Kelly said.
“They arrested the suspect and spared the untold misery that three-quarters of a million dollars worth of drugs and addiction can cause the families who can least afford it.”
The bust happened at 8:20 p.m. near West 207th Street and Sherman Avenue. Delacruz-Arias is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. His alleged accomplice is still on the loose.
Kelly said busts like this are based on suspicious activities — and have nothing to do with targeting people by race.
“What I find most disturbing and offensive . . . is the notion that the NYPD engaged in racial profiling,” he said.
“That simply is recklessly untrue. We do not engage in racial profiling.”
