United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Several million dollars’ worth of opiates and other narcotics, including what is alleged to be fentanyl, was seized last week in Mount Vernon following a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, New Jersey State Police and the Westchester District Attorney’s Office.

Approximately 25,000 pills alleged to be fentanyl, many marked “M30,” and an estimated 38 kilograms of alleged narcotics including heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl were found packaged and ready for sale in an apartment in Mount Vernon. In a contemporaneous search warrant executed at a residence in Yonkers, an estimated $35,000 in cash was seized. The substances have been sent to the DEA’s Northeast Regional Laboratory for analysis.

An individual was arrested in New Jersey by New Jersey State Police in connection with the seized narcotics, and was charged in Mount Vernon with two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, pending extradition to Westchester.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said: “Two milligrams of fentanyl can cause death, and taking this large amount of fentanyl out of distribution has saved lives. This seizure is indicative of how traffickers are making street drugs highly potent and highly addictive by adding fentanyl. This is a warning that local traffickers vary methods of distribution, some selling only fentanyl and some selling mixtures of fentanyl and other drugs. Therefore, drug users beware, what you may think is one drug, is really laced with something more powerful and deadly.”

Westchester District Attorney’s Office, District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said: “Drug overdoses and overdose deaths are plaguing Westchester and our region. We are committed to doing everything we can to get drugs off of our streets and out of our communities and to help fight opiate addiction. We are grateful for the hard work of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force – including the DEA, NYPD and New York State Police – and the New Jersey State Police for helping us in this effort.”

New York State Police Acting Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen said: “The relentless work and collaborative efforts of law enforcement at all levels has resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars in deadly drugs and the removal of a dangerous criminal who threatened the safety and security of our neighborhoods. We have zero tolerance for those who sell these deadly, illegal drugs. Together, we will continue to aggressively target and eliminate these operations and work to stop the distribution of these deadly substances and the drug-related violence on our streets.”

New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan said: “The amount of lethal narcotics seized in this investigation is staggering. There is no doubt that this investigation saved lives, prevented addiction, and made our communities safer. Large-scale operations of this magnitude are a testament to the effectiveness of multiagency collaborations, which require complex coordination of personnel and a willingness to share information and intelligence at every level. We remain committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to disrupt the flow of these deadly narcotics into our communities.”

The NYDETF comprises personnel from the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police. The search warrants for the Mount Vernon and Yonkers locations were executed by the NYSP and NYPD with assistance from the DEA. NYSP K-9 Liam also assisted.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.