Federal law enforcement authorities announced Thursday, Sept. 28, that as part of an ongoing investigation into fentanyl trafficking in New York City, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers recovered over 40 pounds of suspected fentanyl, carrying an estimated street value of $1.5 million in The Bronx on Tuesday evening, Sept. 26.

 

They said the latest seizure took place six blocks away from Divino Niño Daycare Center at 2707 Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, where, as reported, one-year old Nicholas Dominici was exposed to fentanyl and later died on Friday, Sept. 15. Three other infants were also hospitalized as a result of being exposed to fentanyl at the same daycare center and are now recovering, as reported. A spokesperson for the SNP said the additional fentanyl located at this latest location [2800 Heath Avenue] is unrelated to the existing investigation into the daycare center incident, where fentanyl was also seized in recent weeks.

 

Frank A. Tarentino III, special agent in charge of the New York division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA), Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s special narcotics prosecutor, NYPD Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban, NYS Police Acting Superintendent Steven A. Nigrelli, and Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced the arrest of Juan Gabriel Herrera Vargas following an investigation by the DEA’s New York drug enforcement task force (NYDETF), Group T-21 and New York City Office of the Special Narcotic Prosecutor (SNP).

 

They said a criminal complaint filed by the SNP charges Herrera Vargas with operating as a major trafficker, criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees, and criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree. They said Herrera Vargas was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 26, and is awaiting arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court as of Thursday, Sept. 28.

In the context of the announcement, Tarentino said, “The public outcry after the poisoning death of a toddler was not enough to stop a drug mill from operating just six blocks away from that daycare. Trafficking organizations use these toxic mills to prepare and package bulk drugs into street-ready glassines for distribution for one reason- profit. Mills lurk throughout our city in apartments, basements or even under floorboards and that is why DEA and our law enforcement partners don’t stop working.”

 

He added, “Herrera Vargas took danger one step further and wheeled over 40 pounds of fentanyl around the city and on the subway with no regard to public safety. I applaud the members of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, Office of Special Narcotic Prosecutor, and Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their diligent work.”

 

Brennan also commended the joint task force as well as her office’s investigations unit for their work on the case. “The conduct charged is shockingly brazen, especially in a city still grieving the overdose death of a young child who lost his life at a nearby daycare center,” she said. “The defendant is charged with transporting almost 30 pounds of fentanyl bricks in a rolling suitcase on a subway, through a subway station, and on the sidewalks of a busy Bronx neighborhood. We will continue to work tirelessly with all of our law enforcement partners to protect out city from the scourge of deadly fentanyl.”

According to federal law enforcement authorities, on Sept. 26, agents and officers from DEA, NYPD, NYSP and the SNP NY office conducted a surveillance operation on Heath Avenue in The Bronx. They said that at around 4:40 p.m., Juan Gabriel Herrera Vargas was observed carrying a small black bag to the Kingsbridge Road subway station. They said that through physical and electronic surveillance, agents and officers tracked him as he travelled south and later made a northbound return trip on the subway.

 

They said that at around 6 p.m., he was seen exiting the Kingsbridge Road station and walking towards an apartment building at 2800 Heath Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights section of The Bronx, pulling a black and tan rolling suitcase behind him. They said agents and officers approached and identified themselves to Herrera Vargas at around 6.15 p.m. They said he handed agents his wallet and identification and ran away, eluding law enforcement, and leaving the rolling suitcase behind. They said agents and officers found 13 rectangular shaped kilogram bricks of suspected fentanyl in the black and tan rolling suitcase.

 

Officials went on to say that agents and officers seized the 13 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and maintained surveillance on 2800 Heath Avenue, and at around 8.40 p.m., Herrera Vargas was observed exiting Apt. 1J of that address, pulling a blue rolling suitcase with a red stripe in the middle behind him. They said agents and officers arrested Herrera Vargas and seized from inside the suitcase approximately 50,000 glassines, wrapped together into 25 larger packages.

They went on to say that at around 11 p.m., agents and officers conducted a search of Apt. 1J at 2800 Heath Avenue, where one kilogram of suspected fentanyl, six pounds of loose powder, 10,000 filled glassines, and materials used for packaging glassines such as grinders, scales, glassines, stamps and rubber bands were recovered.

 

They said the fentanyl and packaging materials were found in the back bedroom which also contained a glass table set up for packaging narcotics and bright lights. They said the second bedroom contained additional paraphernalia along with a large TV monitor that was connected to a security camera to monitor the apartment. They said the apartment windows were taped up with large black plastic trash bags to ensure nothing was visible from the outside. They added that the results of DEA laboratory analysis on the narcotics seized are pending.

 

Clark also gave her reaction to the seizure and arrest, saying, “Once again, a large supply of fentanyl has been found in The Bronx. For years, our community has been a hub for fentanyl distribution and has suffered so many deaths. The catastrophic loss of one-year-old Nicholas Dominici is the bleakest reminder that we must be relentless in removing drug traffickers from our city. I am grateful to my federal and state partners for their dedication and diligence in their fight  to save lives.”

Law enforcement officials said the case was another example of how fentanyl is being packaged into street-ready units for mass distribution to the New York City and northeast areas. According to the DEA, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. They said it is inexpensive, widely available, highly addictive, and comes in a variety of colors, shapes and forms, including powder and pills. They said drug traffickers are increasingly mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs to drive addiction and create repeat business, and many victims of fentanyl poisoning are unaware they have ingested fentanyl.

 

Caban said the NYPD and their colleagues on the NYDETF were confronting head-on what he said was a terrifying, ever-growing threat that has never been more lethal. “We are fighting this deadly epidemic with urgency and determination, and, along with our partners at the office of the Bronx District Attorney and the New York City Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, we vow to continue battling against the manufacture and use of this cheap, synthetic opioid, including by disrupting the supply chains that traffic it into New York City neighborhoods.”

 

According to the CDC, an estimated 110,684 people in the U.S. died of drug overdoses and poisonings in 2022, with almost 70 percent of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Meanwhile, 3,026 people fatally overdosed in New York City alone in 2022, according to the City’s health department. Health officials said only two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.

Nigrelli also commended what he said was the diligent work of the New York State Police members, and thanked the DEA, NYPD, and SNP for their partnership in the case and for working to protect who he said were the most vulnerable members of the City’s communities. “The arrest of this individual is a testament to our commitment to stop these illegal and dangerous drugs from infiltrating our neighborhoods,” he said. “The State Police will continue to work with all our law enforcement partners to keep criminals like this and these deadly drugs off our streets.”

 

As reported, when contacted by Norwood News to ask if the husband of Grei Mendez, caretaker of the Divino Niño Daycare Center, who, as reported, has already been arrested and charged with murder, drug trafficking and other charges, the NYPD said a man was recently taken into custody in Mexico. No additional details on charges were provided.

 

Separately, as also reported, Mayor Eric Adams, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Police Commissioner Edward Caban and others confirmed during a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 27, that a second New York City daycare center (located in Manhattan North) has been shut down following the execution of three search warrants and the subsequent discovery of ghost guns and a ghost gun 3D printing machine at the center. Three people were arrested.

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

 

Read our previous stories on the Divino Nino Daycare Center tragedy here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Read our previous stories on Narcan kit training here and here.

 

NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) provides training and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan). Click here for more information.

 

A link to a legitimate GoFundMe page, set up by Nicholas’ parents to help with their financial expenses in the wake of the tragedy, can be found in our previous story here.