Federal, State, and City law enforcement officials announced Friday,  April 10, that three large-scale, yet unrelated fentanyl packaging mills were busted in The Bronx and Manhattan on Wednesday, April 8. In the Bronx, the mills were located in the Mt. Eden neighborhood and close to the Bronx Zoo and Arthur Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood, officials said. Some of the packages were marked with the word “Taliban,” they added.

 

They said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York task force division (NYTFD), working with the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s (SNP) Office, seized a combined total of around 42.5 kilograms of fentanyl (over 90 pounds), carrying an estimated street value of $7.5 million during the takedown.

 

Officials said more than $30,000 cash was also recovered, along with two loaded guns from a Washington Heights apartment used for narcotics packaging. They said at each location, thousands of small glassine envelopes of fentanyl were packaged, and each mill appeared to be operating independently. They said all three operations were located inside residential buildings within a three-mile radius of each other, and added that fentanyl in the form of pressed bricks and/or powder, and substances commonly mixed with it, were also recovered in each location.

They went on to say that eight people have been charged in different criminal complaints filed by the Office of the SNP, adding that charges stem from court authorized searches in what were described as the three unrelated investigations by the DEA’s NYTFD, which were all conducted within a six-hour period.

 

Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s SNP, Christopher Roberts, special agent in charge of the DEA’s task force division, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., NYC Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and NYS Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the arrests following arraignments of those involved at Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday night, April 9.

 

Brennan said, “These arrests and prosecutions send a clear message: New York City will tirelessly track and disrupt fentanyl profiteers who have claimed too many precious lives. I thank prosecutors and members of law enforcement who worked around the clock to disrupt these three organizations.” She also thanked her colleagues for what she described as their support and dedication.

Meanwhile, Roberts, said, “As we know, fentanyl is already a deadly threat, but when mixed with xylazine, the effects can be catastrophic. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the DEA New York Task Force Division and our law enforcement partners, three more fentanyl packaging operations have been eradicated from our communities.”

 

He added, “For far too long, traffickers have exploited the hard-working neighborhoods in the Bronx and Washington Heights to process, package, and distribute their poison, showing no regard for the danger posed to those who live nearby, including the very residents in their own apartment buildings. The DEA New York Task Force Division remains committed to taking back our neighborhoods. Our mission is clear; save lives, and target those who threaten them.”

 

For her part, Clark said, “I would like to commend the federal, state and local law enforcement officers who have put these operations out of business, while putting themselves in danger. Too many families have lost a loved one from his terrible scourge of drug addiction. It is incalculable, the number of people that 90 pounds of fentanyl could harm.”

 

She added, “These drug traffickers do not care about human life, which is why we must continue to root them out. One of the drug mills was a couple blocks away from two of the Bronx’s gems—the Bronx Zoo and Arthur Avenue.” The DA also thanked her colleagues in office for what she described as their leadership.

Bragg Jr. said New York City stood steadfast against those who would traffic in dangerous narcotics, including deadly fentanyl. “I am thankful to the Special Narcotics Prosecutor and DEA for their work to disrupt these large-scale mills and join in their commitment to rid our streets of illegal narcotics and firearms,” he said.

 

Tisch, meanwhile, said those arrested thought they could turn New York City’s communities into a full-scale fentanyl packaging mill, “churning out drugs with a callous disregard for human life.” She added, “Because of the work of the NYPD, and our other partners on the DEA Task Force, we found these locations, seized nearly 90 pounds of dangerous fentanyl, and shut down these lethal operations.”

 

She added, “Now, an estimated $7.5 million worth of drugs no longer has a chance to cause harm and devastation to New Yorkers. I thank the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office their continued coordination in bringing these trafficking networks to an end.”

 

Finally, James said, “The enforcement action announced today underscores the relentless commitment of our state, local, and federal partners to dismantle the networks responsible for flooding our communities with deadly narcotics. The scale of these operations and the amount of fentanyl seized highlight the grave threat this poison poses to public safety. The New York State Police remain fully committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, and hold accountable those who profit from addiction and endanger lives across New York.”

According to law enforcement, the NYTFD is comprised of agents and officers with the DEA New York task force division, the NYPD, and the New York State Police. They said the SNP’s investigators unit assisted with the investigations.

 

Officials said one of the two Bronx mills was located at 1560 Selwyn Avenue, Apt. 5J, in Mt. Eden, adding that agents and officers with NYTFD Group T-23 conducted a court-authorized search of the location at around 1 p.m. on April 8, and seized around 25 kilograms of fentanyl and xylazine, including multiple kilogram-sized packages, bags of powder, and hundreds of thousands of filled glassine envelopes packaged and ready for distribution.

 

They said defendant Leocadio Nunez-Olivares, 38 of Manhattan, faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree, following a two-month investigation. They said the apartment contained all the equipment necessary for packaging fentanyl, including glassine envelopes, scales, blenders, and stamps for branding glassine envelopes. They said stamp names included “War Zone” and the word “Taliban” underneath a picture of an assault rifle.

 

During the investigation, officials said agents allegedly observed Nunez-Olivares coming and going from the apartment, and while the defendant was not present at the time of the search, agents arrested him near his home in Washington Heights, at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 182nd Street at around 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Officials said the second of the two Bronx mills was located at 2411 Prospect Avenue, Apt. 2C in the Belmont section, adding that an investigation by NYTFD Group T-14 resulted in the seizure of around 7.5 kilograms of fentanyl and around $20,000 cash at the location.  They said defendants Hector Tavarez, 38, of The Bronx, José Hidalgo, 25, of The Bronx, Hector Tavarez Negrin, 72 of Yonkers, and Neriy Vlerio, 31 of The Bronx, face charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees.

 

Officials said that during the short-term investigation, at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, agents and officers observed defendant Hidalgo allegedly tossing a plastic bag after leaving the location and agents stopped him and recovered a kilogram of narcotics from the bag.

 

They said members of Group T-14 approached the door of the location, where NYPD K9 (dog) “Mulk” alerted them to the presence of narcotics, and the team entered the apartment. They said afterwards, K9 “Mulk” showed signs of fentanyl exposure and was treated with Narcan, an overdose prevention measure. They said the apartment was on the second floor of a six-story, residential building.

 

They said agents allegedly encountered an active fentanyl packaging operation and three men inside, the agents secured the location while prosecutors applied for a search warrant, and conducted a court authorized search at around 7 p.m. They said another six kilograms of fentanyl were recovered, including two additional fentanyl bricks, clear plastic bags of fentanyl powder, and hundreds of filled glassine envelopes.

Inside the apartment, they said three tables were set up for processing fentanyl and stamping glassines envelopes with various brands, including a lion with a crown. They said the equipment necessary for drug packaging was present, and glassine envelopes were found drying in a hot oven, and a pan of fentanyl was underneath some lamps.

 

They said the Prospect Avenue packaging mill was located down the street from two schools, a public elementary school and a high school, and near the Bronx Zoo.

 

As reported, on the same day and around the same time as the drug bust took place in Belmont, a shooting took place also in Belmont at nearby 2400 Cambreleng Avenue (around 19 minutes later). The shooting victim is expected to survive.

 

Meanwhile, officials said the Manhattan mill was located at 515 West 183rd Street, 1F, in Washington Heights. They said that around 10 kilograms of fentanyl, two loaded guns, loaded magazines, and over $11,000 in cash were recovered in a court authorized search of the location by members of NYTFD Group T-41. They said agents and officers entered the apartment at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday and allegedly found Gerardo Rivera, 50, of Manhattan, Hilisu Garcia, 29 of Manhattan, and Samir Tejada Almanzar, 20 of Manhattan, inside.

They said a criminal complaint charges all three defendants with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, criminal possession of a firearm, and criminally using drug paraphernalia. They said Rivera faces the additional charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

 

They went on to say that agents and officers recovered two guns in a bedroom, including a .357 revolver pistol found in a dresser drawer, and a second firearm, a 9mm Beretta pistol, and two magazines in a firearm box behind a nightstand. They said also in the bedroom was a plastic container filled with fentanyl powder and additional twists of fentanyl. They said two closets in the hallway and near the bathroom contained bags of fentanyl bricks, powdered fentanyl, over 1,000 filled glassines envelopes, and a pair of kilogram presses.

 

Brennan thanked Clark, and Bragg, Jr., and commended all others involved for their work on the investigation.

 

The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.