“Oh, that’s weed,” says man with $400k worth of heroin on kitchen table after routine

“Oh, that’s weed,” says man with $400k worth of heroin on kitchen table after routine noise complaint check

Posted on March 11, 2014

http://worldduh.files.wordpress.com/...pg?w=300&h=199

Cops were just conducting a routine noise complaint check when they stumbled upon a heroin mill in a New York City apartment.

According to a New York Times report, police arrived at Frank Giardina’s Flushing, Queens apartment on Friday night after a neighbor complained about loud noise. They were surprised when Giardina greeted them with a marijuana pipe in his hand.

“Oh, that’s weed,” Giardina said when asked about the odor emanating from the flat.

That was reason enough for the officers to write up a summons. But Giardina first had to gather his ID and was kind enough to invite them inside, where they quickly found five pounds of heroin resting on the kitchen table.

That’s worth as much as $400,000 on the street.

A full search quickly ensued, resulting in the discovery of more heroin and of 1,948 glassine bags, commonly used to package and sell small units of the drug.

Giardini has since been charged with first-degree criminal drug possession and illegal possession of marijuana. Although he has never been arrested before, he could face eight years in prison.

Officers indicate that the area is not known for drug trafficking, but such operations are appearing more frequently in unexpected areas in order to avert suspicion. According to the New York Times, heroin seizures in the city jumped 67 percent over the last four years.

In February, CBS News reported on another heroin mill bust that occurred just a week before Philip Seymour Hoffman’s overdose. In that bust, cops found $8 million worth of the drug in a Bronx apartment. Thay apartment was a fully-functioning drug distribution operation where workers packaged bricks of heroin into small baggies for distribution.