Feds say they confiscated 22 pounds of cocaine from a house near New Kensington school; 2 arrested

Federal authorities charged two men with dealing large amounts of cocaine from a house they lived in near Martin Elementary School in New Kensington.

Marcos Francisco-Tomas and Andres Flores-Cedeno were arrested Saturday, according to an affidavit that a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent filed in federal court in Pittsburgh. Their ages were not provided in the affidavit; Flores-Cedeno was carrying a Mexican passport in his name.

Flores-Cedeno was arrested outside the house in the 1800 block of Seventh Street, two doors down from the school. While investigators were talking with him on the porch, Francisco-Tomas ran out a side door.

After a short foot chase, he was apprehended in the Martin Elementary parking lot, the affidavit said.

Investigators say they had been watching the men come and go from the house since November.

Investigators believe they had been distributing cocaine by kilograms to several people in the Pittsburgh area. One kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.

New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

A search of the house allegedly uncovered 10 kilograms of cocaine, which is about 22 pounds.

There also was an undetermined amount of cash inside a safe, a money counter and various drug packaging materials, according to the affidavit.

The cocaine was scattered and hidden throughout the house including in a trash bag, closets and the attic.

A value of the cocaine seized was not given.

On Saturday, investigators saw Flores-Cedeno get into a tractor-trailer rig that stopped in front of the house. Francisco-Tomas got out of the truck carrying a duffel bag into the house, according to investigators, who believe the bag contained cocaine, the affidavit states.

No other people were found inside the house.