The Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office announced Friday the arrest of three people, including a woman, for allegedly operating a clandestine fentanyl lab inside an apartment in the Bronx.
This follows an investigation involving agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, New York City Police Department and other agencies.
At the time of the arrest, the woman’s two-year-old son was inside the apartment. Authorities believe that a total of five children under the age of 15 lived there. The building was located across the street from a daycare center and a playground.
José Cordero-Concepción, 37, Erik Jesús Reynoso-Burgos, 34, and Ariendy Jiminez-Hidalgo, 41, were charged Wednesday with several counts, including first and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, endangering the welfare of a minor, second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, fourth-degree criminal facilitation, and first-degree unlawful dealing with a minor.
“This police operation dealt a severe blow to a drug trafficking network. And, more importantly, it was a rescue mission. The fact that they were grinding up chunks of fentanyl and filling thousands of small bags with this deadly powder in the same apartment where a two-year-old child was located reveals an absolute disregard for human life. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our neighborhoods and our children from those who sell poison and profit from addiction,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan.
Approximately two kilograms (four pounds) of suspected fentanyl mixtures—with an illicit street value exceeding half a million dollars—were seized at the residence and in a bag that one of the defendants removed from the apartment. Authorities also found tens of thousands of glassine paper envelopes, each containing a single dose. Some bore the image of a goat along with the branding “G.O.A.T. Greatest of All Time.”
When was the discovery made?
Authorities made the discovery Tuesday at approximately 1:24 p.m. in a ground-floor apartment at 755 East 216th Street in Williamsbridge, as part of a fentanyl trafficking investigation, according to the prosecutor’s office report.
During surveillance, officers observed Burgos enter the building, and minutes later, Concepción leave with a bag, the report states. Inside the bag, officers found thousands of waxed paper packets containing suspected narcotics.
Upon entering the apartment, the report says, they found a two-year-old child and his mother, Ariendy Jiminez, in one of the bedrooms. According to the arraignment, five children under the age of 15 live at the residence, and investigators found children’s items in the apartment.
Burgos was found in a room allegedly used for packaging fentanyl. He was sitting at a folding table on which lay a stack of waxed paper envelopes containing suspected narcotics.
Authorities searched the apartment and seized tens of thousands of waxed paper envelopes containing a substance suspected to be fentanyl, in various stages of preparation. They also seized thousands of loose envelopes filled with fentanyl, as well as others containing the substance but not yet sealed.
A preliminary analysis of the seized narcotics, conducted at the DEA laboratory, revealed the presence of fentanyl mixed with medetomidine, a powerful tranquilizer used in veterinary medicine. They also found all the equipment necessary to manufacture the drug.
In total, approximately $30,000 in cash was recovered from the apartment; some of this money was found in a living room closet and some under the kitchen sink.
At the arraignment hearing, bail was set at $150,000 for Concepción and $50,000 for Burgos. Hidalgo was ordered released on his own recognizance.
