Federal officials said a Bronx man, Narcisco Negrum, 45, and a second man, Jose Castillo, 44, from Manhattan, have been charged with various offenses following what they said was a long-term investigation into fentanyl/heroin packaging and distribution in New York City. A third man, Jose Lopez Paulino, 42, of Bridgeport, CT, had also been charged with related offenses by The Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP).

 

SNP Bridget G. Brennan, Frank Tarentino III, special agent in charge of the New York division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and NYS Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the unsealing of the indictment on Thursday, April 10, in conjunction with arraignments of Negrum and Castillo in New York County Supreme Court.

 

They said during a court-authorized search of a narcotics packaging mill, located in an apartment in the Inwood neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, local, state, and federal law enforcement officers recovered thousands of glassine envelopes of potentially lethal drug mixtures, bags of powdered cocaine and xylazine, and bottles of veterinary-grade xylazine. Also present were boxes of the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan, one of which was empty.

 

Reacting to the news, Brennan said, “The recovery of an empty box of Narcan in this fentanyl mill, located in a residential apartment, eliminates any question about the defendants’ knowledge of the life-threatening danger posed by the white powders they were mixing and packaging. The dedication and commitment of the law enforcement team involved in this case undoubtedly prevented serious harm and potential loss of life.”

 

For his part, Tarentino said, “When dangerous drug traffickers turn an apartment into a drug processing plant, the results can have devasting consequences. The indictment of these two individuals, Narciso Negrum and Jose Castillo, who recklessly jeopardized the safety of others by packaging and pushing illicit and deadly narcotics into our communities, is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of the DEA New York Division and our law enforcement partners.” He added, “Together, we remain committed to protecting our communities and saving lives.”

The indictment charges Negrum and Castillo with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree.

 

They said Negrum and Castillo were arrested in Inwood on Jan. 24, at 4863 Broadway, Apartment 1P which allegedly served as a drug packaging location. They said the third man, Lopez Paulino, was also arrested and charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree and two counts of criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree.

 

Tisch said, “These drug traffickers were preparing to flood New York City with deadly poison – fentanyl and xylazine packaged for profit — without regard for the lives it would cost.”

 

She added, “With today’s indictments, we’re sending a clear message: we will not let criminals poison our streets and wreak havoc in our communities. I commend the relentless NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners for their outstanding work.”

 

James said law enforcement was continuing to work with our local, state, and federal partners to target those who are trafficking dangerous narcotics in New York’s communities. “This investigation has shut down a major packaging operation and has taken deadly heroin and fentanyl off the streets,” he said. “I want to thank the task force members and our partners for their outstanding work.”

As detailed in court documents and in statements made in court, various law enforcement officials conducted physical and electronic surveillance at 4863 Broadway, a six-story apartment building, and on Jan. 24, at around 5:24 p.m., Negrum was observed leaving Apt. 1P carrying a heavy bag, which he placed inside a vehicle.

 

The court heard that Lopez Paulino then retrieved the bag and placed it inside his own vehicle, an Acura MDX with a Connecticut license plate. Law enforcement officials stopped the Acura and recovered a one kilogram brick approximately (over two pounds) of powdered narcotics from a hidden trap compartment.

 

Subsequent DEA laboratory analysis identified the contents as a mixture of cocaine, xylazine (a non-opioid veterinary sedative), lidocaine, and BTMPS (an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing).

 

The court heard that on Jan. 25, at around 1:10 a.m., law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of 4863 Broadway, Apt. 1P, and recovered more than 8,000 filled glassine envelopes of fentanyl mixtures, and dozens of stamps used for branding glassines with names such as “Toy Story” and “Mayo.”

 

Over a pound and a half of powdered xylazine and three bottles of veterinary-grade xylazine labeled with the commercial brand name Rompun were also in the apartment, along with three boxes of the overdose reversal drug Narcan, one of which was empty. All the equipment necessary for packaging fentanyl for distribution, including thousands of empty glassine envelopes, was found in cabinets below the TV and the kitchen sink and in a bedroom.

DEA laboratory analysis on narcotics seized from the apartment identified mixtures of fentanyl, heroin, tramadol, xylazine, and other substances. Also known as “tranq,” xylazine is frequently mixed with fentanyl and increasingly found present in fentanyl-involved overdoses. Because xylazine is a non-opioid drug, it is not responsive to Narcan.

 

Brennan thanked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and commended SNP’s trial division and investigators unit, DEA’s New York division, the New York drug enforcement task force, the NYPD and the NYS Police for their work on the investigation.