A massive drug bust in Queens is something the NYPD said hasn’t been seen in at least a decade. A New Jersey man was arrested after more than 580 pounds of cocaine was seized outside a Long Island City self-storage facility, law enforcement said. The drugs had an estimate street value of more t han $10 million. “That is an enormous quantity of narcotics that will never be broken down, that will never be packaged, sold, or distributed in our neighborhoods,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who noted that the bust was the result of an investigation into high-level cocaine trafficking in New York and New Jersey. The DEA, New Jersey State Police and the Special Narcotics Prosecutors Office all worked with the NYPD to take down 35-year-old Nelson Salcedo, of Englewood, New Jersey. “It was old-fashioned technical work, long hours of surveillance, following subjects and vehicles, developing intelligence, and staying with the case until investigators were in a position to act,” Tisch said. “This appears to be the largest single cache of cocaine my office has seized in 20 years,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan. “Cocaine trafficking has caused significant damage to our city and continues to claim lives, especially when mixed with fentanyl and sold to unwitting buyers. In fact, it is present in more than half of all overdose deaths in New York City.” Law enforcement said they watched Salcedo over the course of two weeks deliver weighted cardboard boxes in the vicinity of the northern end of Central Park. Another unidentified person was seen doing the same on Wednesdays. Agents and officers eventually tracked Salcedo to the self-storage facility on Northern Boulevard, where they allegedly watched him load multiple boxes from the facility into a Nissan van. During the search, 19 boxes containing more than 266 kilograms of cocaine were found in and around the van, the prosecutor’s office said. Once distributed, law enforcement said the cocaine was likely to be cut as many as three times with dangerous drugs like fentanyl. “The seizure of more than 580 pounds of cocaine is a significant disruption to the criminal organizations responsible for distributing dangerous drugs throughout our communities,” said DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James. “This investigation demonstrates the effectiveness of the strong partnerships between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and our shared commitment to identifying and dismantling high-level drug trafficking organizations.” Nelson was charged with first- and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Attorney information for him was not immediately available. As for the joint investigation, it is far from over. Authorities said they expect more drug seizures and more people taken into police custody as the investigation moves forward. ...read more read less