Nearly 270 pounds of illicit drugs were confiscated from residential buildings in The Bronx and Queens, New York within the past several weeks, officials said Monday.
The Drug Enforcement Agency and New York Police Department reportedly seized enough of the increasingly popular and lethal opioid, fentanyl, to kill as many as 32 million individuals.
A high volume of heroin and cocaine were also recovered from a Kew Gardens apartment from the August 1 bust.
Four suspects have been arrested in the massive sting — including Rogelio Alvarado-Robles and Blanca Flores-Solis from the August bust, and Edwin Guzman and Manuel Rivera-Santana in September.
Agents made a record fentanyl bust in Queens and seized an amount large enough to kill 32 million people
Officers seized nearly 270 pounds of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine worth $30 million during separate busts, law enforcement officials said Monday
They arrested four people involved in the massive sting in The Bronx and Queens
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said ‘the sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking,’ while ‘a record number of people in New York City’ are dying from lethal overdoses.
‘The city is used as a hub of regional distribution for a lethal substance that is taking thousands of lives throughout the Northeast.’
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown hopes authorities continue to crack down on the distributors.
‘These two investigations that led to the seizure of these drugs will undoubtedly save lives and we will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to combat this growing epidemic,’ Brown said.
Also last month, authorities seized a $3 million haul of heroin and fentanyl from inside an Uber car in Upper West Side, Manhattan.
Rogelio Alvarado-Robles Agents and Blanca Flores-Solis were two suspects arrested in August
DEA officials stopped Uber driver Richard Rodriguez on the corner of 121st Street and Amsterdam Avenue after surveillance footage showed a second suspect, David Rodriguez, carrying two suspicious boxes from a Central Park West apartment into the company vehicle.
During the stop, agents found a ‘clear plastic bag containing a tan powdery substance’ in one box and in the second cylindrical box, fentanyl and heroin inside Ziplock bags.
Both men were arrested, while officials later saw two other men on surveillance in the same Central Park West complex who were believed to be involved in a drug-related gang.
Jesus Perez-Cabral and Johnny Beltrez were taken into custody after Perez-Cabral admitted he had a .25 caliber Beretta pistol and a variety of drugs inside his 6D apartment.
DEA Special Agent James Hunt said the seizure contained ‘enough potency to kill half of the population’ in New York City alone.
‘The volume of heroin and highly potent fentanyl entering New York City is staggering,Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said
Fentanyl and other opioid overdoses alone, accounted for more than 20,000 fatalities in the United States last year
‘Fentanyl is manufactured death that drug dealers are mixing with heroin. I commend the brave men and women in law enforcement who are risking their lives tracking down this toxin before it contributes to more fatal overdoses,’ Hunt said.
‘The volume of heroin and highly potent fentanyl entering New York City is staggering, but so is the amount being removed from the streets as a result of successful collaborations between law enforcement partners,’ Prosecutor Brennan said in August.
‘In this case, millions of dollars in suspected heroin and fentanyl was seized just steps from Central Park, a top destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
‘By reducing the supply of these dangerous drugs, we are saving lives and sending a clear message that those who seek to profit by peddling poison will be put out of business and brought to justice.’
Drug overdoses killed roughly 64,000 people in the United States in 2016, which was a rise from the 2015 statistic of 52,404, according to the annual CDC report.
Fentanyl and other opioid overdoses accounted for more than 20,000 of the fatalities last year.