A cache of more than 12 kilograms (25 pounds) of suspected fentanyl and cocaine and $100,000 were recovered after members of the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force executed an unrelated arrest warrant at a home in the Spuyten Duyvil section of The Bronx, federal prosecutors announced on Monday, May 13.

 

According to federal prosecutors, when officers with the Fugitive Task Force entered 536 Kappock Street, Apt. 6E, at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8, they made an incidental discovery of a trove of narcotics and drug packaging equipment. They said a woman who was the subject of the fugitive arrest warrant and a second individual were inside the apartment at the time, and added that members of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) were alerted and later seized the narcotics during a court-authorized search.

 

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a criminal complaint filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP) charges Jonathan Corona, 36, of The Bronx and and Aracely Ortiz, 43, also of The Bronx, (the subject of the fugitive arrest warrant) each with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, and each with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.

 

Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s SNP, Frank A. Tarentino III, special-agent-in-charge of the New York division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Ralph Sozio, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, New York City Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban, and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the arrests on Monday, following arraignments, which they said took place over the weekend in Manhattan Criminal Court.

 

“New York City continues to be a regional hub of narcotics trafficking,” said Brennan. “Our office and law enforcement partners must be ever vigilant to staunch the flow of lethal drugs like fentanyl. Close collaboration between local, state, and federal law enforcement enabled the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force and the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force to effectively intercept deadly drugs before they hit the streets.”

 

As detailed in the criminal complaint, at around 6 a.m. on May 8, members of the Fugitive Task Force entered 536 Kappock Street, Apt. 6E, and observed Corona allegedly exiting a bedroom, while Ortiz was visible inside the bedroom.

 

Later that day, at around 1.35 p.m., members of NYDETF, Group T-22, conducted a raid of the two-bedroom apartment with assistance from the SNP Investigators Unit. Inside the first bedroom, agents and officers allegedly discovered a glass-topped table holding numerous glassine envelopes filled with fentanyl, as well as a scale and other narcotics packaging paraphernalia. A safe inside a bedroom closet allegedly concealed three brick-shaped white packages of fentanyl and two brick-shaped black packages of cocaine.

 

During a search of the second bedroom, agents and officers allegedly recovered a money counter, approximately $100,000 cash, a large bag containing six brick-shaped packages of cocaine, and three glass jars containing fentanyl. Ten additional packages of a yet-to-be-identified substance were also recovered in the apartment.

 

Federal prosecutors said field test results on narcotics recovered from the safe were positive for the presence of fentanyl and cocaine. They said the results of DEA laboratory analysis of the narcotics seized at the apartment are pending.

Reacting to the seizure, Tarentino said, “These arrests and the seizure of over 25 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine reflects the partnership the DEA has with our federal and local law enforcement partners when working together. I commend the quick action of the U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force and our DEA New York Drug Enforcement Task Force in responding so quickly in removing these illicit drugs off our streets.”

 

Brennan thanked Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, and commended the DEA’s New York division, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, and SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau and Investigators Unit, for their work on the investigation.

 

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

 

Caban said, “Today’s charges are another example of the remarkable combined efforts of NYPD investigators and our state and federal law enforcement partners. Their skill and dedication are unparalleled, and I commend every member of the U.S. Marshals’ task forces for their commitment to reducing crime and enhancing quality of life in all our neighborhoods.”