SUNRISE, Fla. – Undercover police officers posed as drug dealers in Sunrise. The bait: Cocaine at a low price.
The price was so low that it prompted a 28-year-old Queens police officer to drive from New York to Florida, police said.
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The son of a retired detective had a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun and thought he was buying 10 kilos of cocaine. But instead, he was caught in a drug sting that netted an arrest that surprised the New York Police Department.
In 2012, the 114th Precinct Community Council in Queens named Philip LeRoy "Cop of the Year" for his stellar performance in the anti-crime unit. On Monday, he was in handcuffs.
NYPD suspended LeRoy Tuesday. Sunrise police seized $197,109 in cash and a 2010 Honda SUV. They charged him with committing a first degree felony weapons possession, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic cocaine.
His bond was $250,000.
Police said LeRoy was with two other men, Brian Espinal, 27, and Richard Quintanilla, 35. They were also charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine and cocaine trafficking.
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