Inside New York sewers: Two men arrested near hotel where Netanyahu stayed after emerging from manhole

Kevin Rodriguez, 26, and fellow Venezuelan national Samuel Reveron, 25, were arrested in Queens on Thursday after police found them in tunnels beneath a hotel where Netanyahu was staying for the UN General Assembly, the New York Post reported, citing police and sources.

However, the two men were reportedly not terrorists or spies. Instead, they allegedly told police that they had entered the city's sewer system in search of discarded or lost valuables.

“We go into the sewer and look for valuables that get stuck in the storm drains and sewers — gold, anything of value,” Reveron allegedly told a police officer following his arrest, according to the New York Post.

The two men were charged with criminal trespass and were released on Friday following an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Brian Kennedy, an attorney representing Reveron, denied any connection between his client’s alleged activities and the United Nations or any international government officials, CNN reported.

“It’s entirely plausible that someone might go into the sewers looking for valuables,” Kennedy told CNN, adding: “Desperation leads to great efforts.”

The arrests occured after a string of people were seen emerging from New York manholes in recent times.

Going into the New York sewer system is both illegal and dangerous, officials have told BBC, cautioning that there is a risk of toxic gases and flooding in a confined space.

"For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall," the city's Department of Environmental Protection previously told the BBC.