New York police have arrested two men in connection with a sewer incident near the Manhattan hotel used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit for the United Nations General Assembly.
The suspects, identified as Queens residents Kevin Rodriguez and Samuel Reveron, face trespassing and conspiracy charges, police announced on September 25. Investigators were still seeking a third person seen emerging from the manhole.
The arrests follow the September 23 sighting previously reported by The Sudan Times, when surveillance cameras captured three men climbing out of a sewer near Park Avenue and East 61st Street before dawn.
The location, close to the Loews Regency hotel, prompted additional security sweeps by the New York Police Department and federal authorities. Nothing suspicious was found, according to ABC7 New York.
Police said the suspects told detectives they had entered the underground system to search for valuables washed into storm drains, including jewellery, FOX 5 reported.
Both men appeared in court on September 25 and were released pending further proceedings. ABC7, citing court documents, reported that Reveron was placed under supervised release, while Rodriguez was released on his own recognizance.
Officers had responded to a report of a possible crime at around 4:35 a.m. on September 23. By the time they arrived, the three men had left in two vehicles heading north along Park Avenue.
Police previously said there was no indication that the incident was connected to Netanyahu or the UN gathering. They described it as consistent with other cases involving people searching the sewer network for valuables and scrap metal after storms.
Similar sightings have continued elsewhere in the city. Police told FOX 5 that three other men were seen climbing out of a manhole in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighbourhood early on September 25.
