Suffolk DA: Hicksville woman arrested in drug bust at Melville hotel
A drug bust at a Hilton hotel in Melville led to the arrest of a woman found with nearly 1 pound of crystal methamphetamine and more than “a hundred assorted pills,” Suffolk prosecutors said Friday, saying the seizure fits a recent pattern of rising meth sales.
Nataliya Voronova, 31, of Hicksville, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felonies including criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a statement. If convicted on the highest count, she could be sentenced to a decade in prison.
The crystal meth has a value of about $10,000 a pound, said DEA spokeswoman Erin Mulvey.
The search warrant also resulted in the recovery of other drugs — 9 grams of “black tar” heroin, LSD tabs, 110 Alprazolam pills, 11 oxycodone pills, 27 amphetamine pills, assorted MDMA pills, and liquid Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, according to the statement. In addition, the officers seized $592, a scale and packaging materials.
“We have seen an uptick in the sale of methamphetamines in Suffolk County over the past few months and have been developing intel on the source of those drugs, which led to our investigation of this defendant,” Sini said, thanking the Nassau County Police Department for partnering in the case.
“Evidence of Voronova’s alleged drug dealing was revealed during an ongoing narcotics investigation by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Heroin Task Force as well as in a parallel ongoing investigation by the Nassau County Police Department into a recent fatal overdose,” Sini said.
Voronova was arrested in a hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn after she was served with a search warrant; also arrested was Mario Amato, 48, of Bellmore, who was charged with a misdemeanor for criminal possession of a controlled substance, Sini said.
After her arraignment Thursday, Voronova’s next court appearance is Jan. 11.
Amato was released on recognizance at his arraignment Thursday.
She and Amato are both represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County, which typically does not comment on behalf of defendants.
