Franklin Payano, of Hollywood, Fla., and Luis Payano, of the Bronx, N.Y., were each charged with nine drug counts.

Acting on information received by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Hartford, police staked out a parking lot at 262 Spencer St. They arrested Franklin Payano, 33, and Luis Payano, 41, and seized 5 kilograms of cocaine. Police said the cocaine had a wholesale value of $200,000 and a street value of approximately $1 million.Both men were arrested without incident and were held, with bail set at $1.5 million each. Franklin Payano, of Hollywood, Fla., and Luis Payano, of the Bronx, N.Y., were each charged with nine drug counts.Members of the DEA Task Force, the East Central Narcotics Task Force and Manchester and New Britain police departments participated in the investigation.

Franklin Payano, of Hollywood, Fla., and Luis Payano, of the Bronx, N.Y., were each charged with nine drug counts.

Acting on information received by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Hartford, police staked out a parking lot at 262 Spencer St...

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Edwin (Armani) Cruz, Lucilla Tejada

Edwin (Armani) Cruz, 31, and his girlfriend, Lucilla Tejada, 36. <br />Both face felony drug possession and numerous weapons charges. <br />The arrests came after several weeks of investigation by the NYPD's Bronx gang squad. <br />Police said Cruz and Tejada are not gang members, but identified them as part of a larger drug organization with the drugs and weapons meant for distribution on the streets of upper Manhattan and the Bronx. <br />"This was a substantial bust," said Deputy Chief Robert Boyce, commander of the Citywide Gang Unit. "I think we put a nice dent in this operation." <br />Officers descended on the home at 3343 Sedgwick Ave. at 8:35 a.m., cops said, catching Cruz and Tejada while they were still sleeping. They were arrested without incident. <br />Police found the heroin, wrapped in red cellophane, stuffed in an empty vacuum box in the living room. Seven handguns were stuffed in a black book bag, and two others were found in a drawer, police said.. <br />"These are high-quality, expensive guns," Boyce said. "[Cruz and Tejada] are not ordinary drug pushers." <br />Police also seized drug paraphernalia, along with 25 rubber stamps for marking glassine envelopes used to hold street-level amounts of heroin. <br />Among the "brand names" for the heroin packets were "Survivor" and "Mercedes-Benz." <br />Police said Cruz has an arrest record on charges of robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and felony possession. His parole ended in August 2006. <br />Tejada has no criminal history, they said. <br />The weapons consisted of two 9-mm. handguns, three .40-caliber handguns, one .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, one .32-caliber Taurus handgun, one Ruger and one Mac-11.

Edwin (Armani) Cruz, Lucilla Tejada

Edwin (Armani) Cruz, 31, and his girlfriend, Lucilla Tejada, 36. Both face felony drug possession and numerous weapons charges. The arrests ...

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