Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Who We Are
    • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Divisions
      • Atlanta
        • Atlanta Leadership
        • Atlanta Contacts
      • Caribbean
        • Caribbean Leadership
        • Caribbean Contacts
      • Chicago
        • Chicago Leadership
        • Chicago Contacts
      • Dallas
        • Dallas Leadership
        • Dallas Contacts
      • Detroit
        • Detroit Leadership
        • Detroit Contacts
      • El Paso
        • El Paso Contacts
      • Headquarters
      • Houston
        • Houston Leadership
        • Houston Contacts
      • Los Angeles
        • Los Angeles Leadership
        • Los Angeles Contacts
      • Louisville
        • Louisville Leadership
        • Louisville Contacts
      • Miami
        • Miami Leadership
        • Miami Contacts
      • New England
        • New England Leadership
        • New England Contacts
      • New Jersey
        • New Jersey Leadership
        • New Jersey Contacts
      • New Orleans
        • New Orleans Leadership
        • New Orleans Contacts
      • New York
        • New York Leadership
        • New York Contacts
      • Omaha
        • Omaha Leadership
        • Omaha Contacts
      • Philadelphia
        • Philadelphia Leadership
        • Philadelphia Contacts
      • Phoenix
        • Phoenix Leadership
        • Phoenix Contacts
      • Rocky Mountain
        • Rocky Mountain Contacts
      • San Diego
        • San Diego Leadership
        • San Diego Contacts
      • San Francisco
        • San Francisco Leadership
        • San Francisco Contacts
      • Seattle
        • Seattle Leadership
        • Seattle Contacts
      • St. Louis
        • St. Louis Leadership
        • St. Louis Contacts
      • Washington, DC
        • Washington Leadership
        • Washington Contacts
    • DEA Museum
    • Foreign Divisions
      • Africa
      • Andean
      • Caribbean
      • Europe
      • Asia Pacific
        • Asia Pacific Leadership
      • Middle East
      • North and Central America
      • Southern Cone
    • Operational Divisions
      • Aviation Division
      • Diversion Control Division
    • Wall of Honor
    • Contact Us
      • Submit a Tip
      • Extortion Scam
      • Public Affairs
      • Social Media Directory
  • What We Do
    • Law Enforcement
      • DEA Office of Training
        • Office of Training Programs
      • El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC)
        • Mission
        • Services
        • Contacts
      • Forensic Sciences
        • Computer Forensics Program
        • Environmental Management
        • Laboratories
      • Intelligence
      • Operations
        • Administrative Law Judges
        • DEA Asset Forfeiture
        • Domestic Cannabis Suppression / Eradication Program
        • HIDTA
        • OCDETF
        • State and Local Task Forces
    • Education and Prevention
      • Red Ribbon
      • Kiki and the History of Red Ribbon Week
      • Red Ribbon Toolkit - Resources For Your Community
      • DEA’s Family Summit
      • Operation Engage
      • Community Outreach
      • Just Think Twice
      • Campus Drug Prevention
      • Get Smart About Drugs
      • Operation Prevention
    • Drug Information
      • Drug Policy
      • Drug Scheduling
      • The Controlled Substances Act
    • News
      • Alerts
      • Press Releases
      • Most Wanted Fugitives
        • All Fugitives
      • Stories
      • Events
      • Speeches
      • Testimony
    • Campaigns
      • One Pill Can Kill
        • Partner Toolbox
        • Social Media Campaign
      • DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
  • Careers
    • Special Agent
      • Special Agent FAQs
      • Special Agent Job Announcements
    • Diversion Investigator
      • Diversion Investigator Job Announcement
    • Intelligence Research Specialist
      • Intelligence Research Specialist Job Announcements
      • Intelligence Research Specialists FAQs
      • Schedule A Hiring Authority: Intelligence Research Specialist
    • Forensic Sciences Careers
    • Professional & Administrative Careers
    • Student & Entry Level Careers
    • How to Apply
      • Employment Requirements
      • Equal Opportunity Employer
      • How To Claim Veterans' Preference
      • Priority Consideration
      • Benefits
      • Veterans and People With Disabilities
  • Resources
    • Recovery Resources
    • Data and Statistics
      • Domestic Arrests
      • Staffing and Budget
    • FOIA
      • About FOIA
      • Contact DEA FOIA
      • Make a Request
      • What Happens After Making a Request
      • Requester Categories
      • Fees Charged
      • Fee Waiver
      • FOIA FAQ
      • FOIA Logs and Reports
      • FOIA Library
      • Additional FOIA Links
      • FOIA Exemptions
      • What Are Exclusions?
      • Privacy Act
      • Privacy Act Exemptions
      • Privacy Impact Assessment and Management Information Systems
    • Publications
    • Media Galleries
    • Victim Witness Assistance Program
      • Victim Witness Assistance Program Resources

United States Drug Enforcement Administration

  • Get Updates
  • Scam Alert
  • Full Menu
  • English
  • Español

Main Menu

  • Who We Are
    • About
    • Mission
    • History
    • Divisions
    • DEA Museum
    • Foreign Divisions
    • Operational Divisions
    • Wall of Honor
    • Contact Us
  • What We Do
    • Law Enforcement
    • Education and Prevention
    • Drug Information
    • News
    • Campaigns
  • Careers
    • Special Agent
    • Diversion Investigator
    • Intelligence Research Specialist
    • Forensic Sciences Careers
    • Professional & Administrative Careers
    • Student & Entry Level Careers
    • How to Apply
  • Resources
    • Recovery Resources
    • Data and Statistics
    • FOIA
    • Publications
    • Media Galleries
    • Victim Witness Assistance Program
  • Submit A Tip

Drug Enforcement Administration

Frank A. Tarentino III Special Agent in Charge
New York
@DEANewYorkDiv
October 05, 2020
Contact:
Phone Number: (212) 337-3900
For Immediate Release

Indictment Charges Man for Trafficking Dangerous, Unusual Drug Mixtures of Heroin, Fentanyl, Tramadol and Methamphetamine

Nearly four pounds of narcotics and packaging equipment recovered from maintenance area of residential building near public school in Fordham Heights

Drugs seized by DEA Strike Force
Ketamine seized in apartment
Kilogram found in apartment bedroom
Kilogram press seized in apartment
"Stroke" stamped on glassine bags
Stamp "Queen & Slim" branded on glassine bags

NEW YORK CITY – Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration New York Division, G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, New York City Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea, Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York, and New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett announced today the indictment and arrest of an individual accused of trafficking in multi-kilogram quantities of opioids and methamphetamine mixed together in highly unusual and potentially lethal combinations.

An indictment filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor charges Juan Perez-Pichardo with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First, Second, Third and Fifth Degrees and Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree. The indictment was unsealed this afternoon at an arraignment before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ann E. Scherzer in Part 93.

Perez-Pichardo was arrested on August 13, 2020 by members of the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, Group Z-13, following a court authorized search of his basement apartment at 2400 Walton Avenue. The six-story residential building is located in Fordham Heights on the same block as a public elementary school.

The New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations New York, the New York State Police, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, New York National Guard, the Clarkstown Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Washington Police Department and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is a federally supported crime fighting initiative and part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program.

When agents and officers arrived at 2400 Walton Avenue, they entered through the rear courtyard area of the apartment building and observed a sign posted on the door of the target apartment indicating a storage/maintenance area. Perez-Pichardo was inside the apartment.

During the search, agents and investigators discovered a hidden compartment carved into the wall of a shower area, located adjacent to the kitchen. The compartment contained multiple brick-shaped packages of a brown powdery substance. Another brick-shaped package wrapped in a comforter was found in a bedroom closet. In total, nearly four pounds of suspected narcotics were recovered, as well as 10 bottles of liquid ketamine (a general anesthetic), quinine (an anti-malaria agent) and $1,000 cash.

Subsequent testing by the New York City Police Department Laboratory determined that two of the brick-shaped packages contained a mixture of heroin, fentanyl and tramadol (all opioids) and methamphetamine (a stimulant). A third brick contained heroin, fentanyl and tramadol.

The dangerous and highly unusual combination of opioids with a stimulant could easily cause an unsuspecting user to overdose. Moreover, at least half of all overdose deaths in New York City involve illicit fentanyl, which is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin. The seizure in this case came at a time when drug fatalities reached an all-time high across the country due to aggravating factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The apartment also contained all of the equipment necessary to mix the substances, including a kilo press, scales, grinder, ink pads, stamps and thousands of empty individual-dose glassine envelopes. The drugs seized could have yielded at least 50,000 individual doses worth approximately $500,000 on the street.

Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and commended SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau and all of the agencies involved in the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, including DEA New York Division, the NYPD, HSI New York and the New York State Police, for their work on the case.

“A concealed compartment in an apartment wall held a highly dangerous mixture of opioids and stimulants, something we are seeing more and more of these days,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan. “Drug traffickers are monopolizing on the potency of fentanyl by mixing it with other controlled substances. We have seen fentanyl mixed with heroin, mixed with cocaine, and now being mixed with meth, and tramadol as well.  This is a warning to users that what you think is one drug, could in fact be a toxic cocktail.”  

“The excellent investigative work of attorneys and law enforcement officers undoubtedly saved lives. We seized large quantities of a substance with highly lethal potential – a combination of highly potent stimulants mixed with powerful narcotics - and all the equipment needed to put 50,000 stamped bags filled with it out on the street for sale,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan.

“Our work in this case prevented a tremendous amount of illegal narcotics from flooding into our city’s streets. I commend our NYPD detectives and all of our law enforcement partners for their ongoing efforts to stop the distribution of these deadly drugs,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.

“With a half million dollars’ worth of narcotics hidden throughout his apartment, Perez-Pichardo is alleged to have had enough stashed for fifty thousand potential lethal overdoses. These are deadly drugs, made even deadlier by the substances these traffickers were allegedly adding to this “home brew” of narcotics,” said Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of HSI New York.  “HSI’s partnership with DEA, NYPD and all the Strike Force partners allows for a continuous flow of information in investigations which in turn takes deadly drugs of the street and out of the hands of our city’s most vulnerable.”

State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said, “The collaborative work of law enforcement on this case has prevented a potentially deadly mix of narcotics from reaching our streets. This individual had no regard for the lives of those who would have used these dangerous drugs. I applaud our partners on the task force for their outstanding work in this case.”

Defendant

Charges

Juan Perez-Pichardo

Bronx, NY

Age: 50

CPCS 1st – 2 cts

CPCS 2nd – 1 ct

CPCS 3rd – 3 cts

CPCS 5th – 2 cts

Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia 2nd – 3 cts

 

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

 

 

Heroin Fentanyl Cocaine
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator

  • Who We Are
    • About
    • Domestic Divisions
    • Foreign Offices
    • Contact Us
    • DEA Museum
  • What We Do
    • Drug Prevention
    • Law Enforcement
    • Diversion Control Division
    • News
  • Careers
    • Overview
    • Special Agent
    • Diversion Investigator
    • Intelligence Research Specialist
  • Resources
    • Drug Information
    • Employee Assistance Program
    • Equal Opportunity Employer
    • FOIA
    • Publications
    • Media Galleries
    • VWAP
  • Doing Business
    with the DEA
    • Overview
    • Current Vendors
    • Prospective Vendors
    • Security Clauses
    • Security Forms
    • Small Business Program
  • Policies
    • Accessibility, Plug-ins & Policy
    • Legal Policies & Disclaimers
    • No FEAR Act
    • Privacy Policy
    • U.S. Department of Justice EEO Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Whistleblower Protection
Home

United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DEA.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram

DEA Contact Center

(202) 307-1000 info@dea.gov
Contact the Webmaster