there are 8 million stories of esu,

this is just one of them

Detective Michael Corr, ESU (Ret.)

Haz-Mat Assignment: 44th Drive

Long Island City, Queens · November 3, 1989

“Never before had any U.S. law-enforcement agency faced such a complex challenge—handling a highly corrosive and poisonous substance while securing the largest narcotics seizure in New York City’s history.”

A light drizzle fell through patches of fog, with temperatures hovering around 43°F on the evening of November 3, 1989, as federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs sat in their cars outside a warehouse in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

The agents had been tracking a major shipment of cocaine from the Cali Cartel in Colombia, South America. The cargo had been loaded onto a freighter in Panama, shipped to Philadelphia, and then transported by truck to the Long Island City warehouse. Intelligence suggested that the cocaine was concealed in roughly 260 barrels labeled CORROSIVE, stacked neatly on pallets.

After the warehouse workers had gone home for the night, DEA and Customs requested assistance from the New York City Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Unit to verify that the barrels contained what their labels claimed—sodium hydroxide.

When the FDNY Haz-Mat team arrived, agents briefed them on the investigation. Armed with a search warrant, they asked the firefighters to sample at least one barrel. Once the contents were confirmed to be sodium hydroxide, the agents instructed the Fire Department to return to quarters. The warehouse would remain under surveillance until the suspects arrived.

DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Stutman emphasized the investigation’s sensitivity and instructed that no information be released to the media until the operation was complete and arrests had been made.

A Leak and a Scramble

As agents settled in for what they assumed would be a long night, a voice broke over a car’s AM radio:

“Breaking News: The New York City Fire Department has just uncovered a large shipment of cocaine in a warehouse at 1040 44th Drive in Long Island City, Queens.”

At that point the federal agents went to enter the building, a 911 call reported that there were men with guns on the block. The 108 Pct responded and saw multiple people with long guns and requested ESU and a supervisor. Moments later, news vans from multiple outlets converged on the scene.

With the element of surprise lost and the suspects alerted, the mission shifted from surveillance to recovery. Federal agents quickly learned that ESU was not only equipped but also trained to handle hazardous-materials operations of this magnitude—capable of separating the sodium hydroxide and retrieving the hidden cocaine from inside the barrels. There was one condition: the federal agencies would have to cover all costs for equipment and overtime.

“Done,” said the Feds. “Let’s get started.”

Command and Control

Although the operation fell under federal jurisdiction, it became clear that the incident’s scope exceeded federal readiness. Overall command remained under the auspices of the DEA and U.S. Customs, but the evidence-recovery and hazardous-materials operations were placed under NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit. The Hazardous Materials Unit of ESU took charge of developing an Incident Action Plan (IAP), detailing logistics, personnel, safety, and equipment requirements necessary for safe and effective operations.

Supporting agencies included:

• Highway Motor Carrier Unit
• NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
• NYC Emergency Medical Service (EMS)
• Nassau County Police ESU
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which provided a city bus for rotation and staging.

The Elephant in the Room

As more personnel and equipment arrived, 44th Drive was sealed at both ends. During setup, someone noticed a faint blue line painted down the middle of the street. Most officers recognized it immediately—it marked the New York City Marathon route.

To make matters worse, the marathon was scheduled for Sunday morning—barely 24 hours away. After coordination between city officials, marathon organizers, and incident command, it was decided not to reroute the marathon.

On Sunday, 24,659 runners passed through 44th Drive, most unaware that behind the police barricades lay one of the largest cocaine seizures in city history.

The Challenge

All 260 containers were labeled as Caustic Soda, a Class 8 corrosive hazardous material officially known as sodium hydroxide (NaOH)—or more commonly, lye. It’s used industrially for cleaning and chemical processing. For perspective, extra-strength Drano contains about 2 percent NaOH; these barrels contained it in pure, 100-percent concentration.

Wearing Level-B Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ESU officers examined several barrels and discovered that the smugglers had hidden multiple kilos of cocaine—wrapped in protective film—inside plastic tubes, which were then submerged in the caustic material and sealed.

The sheer number of barrels, combined with the need to process evidence safely inside a hot zone, made the operation unprecedented. The health and safety of those involved was the top priority.

Operations

To meet the challenge, ESU personnel were mobilized from all ten trucks, joined by Highway Motor Carrier and Nassau County ESU, which provided extra manpower and equipment.

Medical monitoring—including pre- and post-entry physicals—was conducted by NYC-EMS and ESU medical personnel. Specialized PPE and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) were supplied from the Haz-Mat office and Floyd Bennett Field.

After clearance by the medical team, E-men suited up in full Level-B chemical gear and entered the warehouse in three-man teams. Each team opened barrels, separated the cocaine bundles from the sodium hydroxide, and performed a brief decontamination to remove residue before transferring the evidence to a secure processing area outside.

Each recovered package was stored in a guarded truck, under the protection of heavily armed ESU officers. After about 30 minutes, the entry team would rotate out and undergo a wet decontamination process performed by another ESU detail. Another team would continue the process until all the cocaine was recovered.

Summary and Aftermath

In total, 260 barrels were processed, yielding 12,000 pounds of pure cocaine—a street value approaching $1 billion.

All operational costs, including equipment replacement and overtime, were fully reimbursed by federal authorities.

Thanks to the professionalism and expertise of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, the operation was completed safely and successfully. In just seven days, ESU officers neutralized a major chemical hazard, secured the largest cocaine seizure in New York City’s history, and did so without a single injury.

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