The Jerusalem Post, Internet News Article, July 20th, 2001:
Two Israelis arrested in largest drug bust in NYC history
By Melissa Radler
NEW YORK (July 20) - Two Israeli citizens were arrested Tuesday night in Manhattan on drug possession charges after police seized more than a million Ecstasy tablets, the largest drug bust in New York City history.
Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik announced Wednesday that David Roash, 25, and Israel Ashkenazi, 28, both of Tel Aviv, were being held in Queens Criminal Court pending drug possession charges. The two face eight and a half years to life in prison if convicted.
The pink, blue, and white Ecstasy pills, which weighed a total of 450 pounds and have a street value $40 million, and nearly $200,000 in cash were found in a studio apartment near the financial district, said Keric at a press conference. Keric said the two Israelis entered the US on May 22 and were identified as wholesale drug dealers by detectives from a Queens narcotics unit. He declined further comment.
In 2000, police seized a total of 385 pounds of Ecstasy, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown at the conference. Brown's office is handling the case.
"There are a million less Ecstasy pills in the city that won't get to our kids, to the clubs, and schoolyards," Kerik said.
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said at the news conference, held at police headquarters, that he hopes the drug bust "will go a long way to interrupt the purchase and the sale of Ecstasy, and also remind people how dangerous it is."
