Cops: Narcotics investigation into drug sales at Main Street restaurant leads to three arrests

Two men were charged with felony drug sales at La Perla Restaurant on East Main Street after a six-month undercover narcotics investigation by Riverhead Police detectives, the East End Drug Task Force and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Riverhead Police said in a press release Wednesday night.

Law enforcement officers issued a search warrant at the restaurant on the evening of Feb. 29 at the restaurant, located at 65 E. Main Street in Riverhead. 

Christopher Contreras, 33, of Coram, and James Wicks, 32, of Bohemia have been arrested and charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony,  for cocaine sales that occurred within the La Perla Restaurant, police said.

On April 10, police arrested the restaurant manager, Eliseo Quintanilla, 43, of Manorville, on a charge of Criminal Nuisance in the Second Degree, for maintaining a premises where persons gather to engage in unlawful conduct, police said.

The NYS Liquor Authority was present during the execution of the  search warrant and will address possible violations of Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, according to the police report..  

This investigation was conducted in response to community complaints of illegal drug activity within the restaurant, police said.  

The investigation is ongoing and police urge anyone with additional information to contact the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500 x 312. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.

Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Correction: The press release issued by Riverhead Police incorrectly stated the date the manager of the restaurant was arrested. It was April 10, not April 4.