Heroin operation busted in the Bronx, officials say

A fast-moving drug investigation in the Bronx led to the break-up of a large-scale heroin operation that investigators believe marketed drugs responsible for four overdose deaths in New York City, officials said Thursday.

During a raid Wednesday at an apartment on 168th Street on the border of the Claremont Village and Morrisania sections of the Bronx, members of the multi-agency drug enforcement task force arrested a total of 10 suspects and seized 20 kilos of heroin with an estimated street value of $2 million, NYPD Asst. Chief Brian McCarthy said.

The task force includes the NYPD and State Police, as well as the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and other units.

The drug were distributed all over the metropolitan area and into New England, police said.

“This high-volume heroin packaging mill was on track to escalate overdose deaths and devastate the lives of those who become addicted,” city special narcotics prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said.

Detectives found 46 individual stamps used to emboss glassine envelopes with trade names like “Hot Sauce,” “Pink Panther,” “American Express” and “Overdose,” McCarthy said.

Some of the brand names found at the drug mill were linked to four recent heroin overdose deaths — three in 2016 and one this year.

McCarthy said that the investigation will try to determine if there is any way of enhancing the charges to include the deaths. So far, the charges in the case involve criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.

Wednesday’s seizure also was being analyzed to see if the potent opioid fentanyl had been added to the drug, according to McCarthy.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.