Bob's Blog

Six suspected drug dealers who are accused of running a $7 million fentanyl distribution operation out of a Bronx apartment were released without bail under the state’s new criminal justice law early Wednesday.

The suspects — Livo Valdez, Jaslin Baldera, Frederick Baldera, Frandi Ledema, Diego Tejada and Parfraimy Antonio — were arrested Monday when officers with the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force raided an apartment on Sedgwick Avenue in Kingsbridge that was allegedly used as a heroin and fentanyl packaging mill.

They were each charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia.

When officers on the task force entered the apartment, they saw the six suspects bundling powder-filled glassine envelopes stamped with the word “fire,” the special narcotics prosecutor said in a press release.

Hundreds of thousands of the envelopes packed with the powder were spread across two tables and overflowing from boxes in the apartment, authorities said.

The drugs, which have a street value of about $7 million, were believed to be headed onto the streets of New York and New England, the prosecutor’s office said. Lab results on the drugs were pending Wednesday morning.

Despite the volume of the drugs seized, all six suspects were cut loose at their arraignments in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday morning.

Border Patrol agents in California found enough fentanyl hidden in a car to kill ‘more than five million people’ earlier this week, according to a news release.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says the bust happened near the city of Temecula, California, on Wednesday afternoon. Agents reportedly stopped a car and had a drug dog check it, which prompted further investigation.

Upon searching the vehicle, CBP says, agents “noticed the headrests of the backseats were unusually solid” and then found two metal boxes containing packages of illicit drugs. Nine of the 12 packages contained 22 pounds of fentanyl, the release details, which is “enough doses to kill more than 5 million people.” The other packages contained 2.64 pounds of cocaine. The total estimated street value of the drugs was $236,400, according to CBP.

Relatively cheap and incredibly potent, fentanyl is used as an additive in all kinds of illicit drugs on the black market such as heroin and cocaine, which has made it a key driver of overdose deaths in the ongoing drug crisis. Just a tiny amount of it can be deadly. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “as little as two milligrams is a lethal dosage in most people.” Cross-border fentanyl smuggling also plays a substantial role in America’s illegal immigration crisis.

“This seizure represents a great victory for San Diego Sector,” Chief Patrol Agent Douglas Harrison said. “We are proud to say that this potentially dangerous combination of drugs will not reach local communities throughout the country. We stand with our law enforcement partners to combat the ongoing opioid crisis.”

CBP says it arrested a 54-year-old U.S. citizen in relation to Wednesday’s bust, that the drugs were turned over to DEA, and that the vehicle was seized by Border Patrol.

Law enforcement officers in Virginia have seized enough fentanyl to kill 14 million people, busting a massive three-state drug ring as part of what they called "Operation Cookout." Thirty-five suspects were arrested, and four others are on the run.

"This opioid crisis is not an issue that is happening someplace else, or to someone else. It's happening right here in Norfolk," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

In total, authorities seized over 30 kilograms of fentanyl, 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine and over $700,000. It's the largest drug takedown in Virginia in 15 years. They also seized roughly 24 firearms, including an AK-47.

"We're not talking about $500 and $600 deals, we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars," Terwilliger said. "You know, $20,000 in the trunk of somebody's car in a gym bag, you know, behind a local restaurant."

Terwilliger said the bust spanned three states and that one of the 39 people charged ordered fentanyl from Shanghai and had it delivered to Virginia through the mail.

"The last thing we want is for the U.S. Postal Service to become the nation's largest drug dealer," he added.

Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult said the case should serve as a warning to other dealers. "If you're out there, you're using firearms, you're dealing drugs and you're hurting people in our communities, this is the group of people that's coming after you," he said. "And we're relentless."

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard announced Thursday that the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward has seized about 2,800 pounds of cocaine during their first drug patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The cocaine was worth an estimated $38.5 million.

Terwilliger said that most fentanyl comes from Chinese labs. There's been an increased effort to hold China accountable for drugs like fentanyl that are manufactured there and smuggled to the U.S. A bipartisan bill in the Senate would sanction Chinese labs and traffickers that export the drug.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers searching a cucumber-laden tractor trailer at the Nogales crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border at the weekend found and seized the largest shipment of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl in CBP history.

In a hidden compartment of the trailer driven by a 26-year-old Mexican, the officers found nearly 254 pounds of fentanyl, in powder and pill form, valued at approximately $3.5 million, Nogales area port director Michael Humphries told reporters at the port of entry on Thursday.

They also found in the same space more than 300 packages, weighing almost 395 pounds of methamphetamine, valued at $1.1 million – the third-largest seizure ever of methamphetamine at an Arizona port of entry.

Reacting to the news, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said the seized fentanyl would have been enough “to kill millions of Americans.”

“This was not just a drug bust – it was a dirty bomb coming across our southern border.”

...After anomalies were observed in the floor of the trailer, CBP sniffer dogs were deployed, and detected a suspect odor. A physical search revealed the hidden compartment and its contents.

Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to help tamp down on shipments of hyper-dangerous drugs into the United States in a win for the Trump administration with implications for opioid-ravaged Tennessee.

Xi approved a long-sought U.S. request to prosecute people shipping synthetic opioids to the U.S. during his first meeting with President Donald Trump since a trade war between the two countries erupted earlier this year.

Trump and Xi also made tentative agreements to cool the still-simmering trade war and work together toward North Korean disarmament during the Saturday meeting at the international G20 forum.

...China's decision to criminalize fentanyl sales is widely viewed by U.S. officials as an important step toward curtailing the growing opioid abuse crisis that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths last year.

"President Trump’s agreement yesterday with President Xi is the single most important step that could be taken to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). "It will save thousands of American lives."

After the meeting, Trump also announced a reversal from plans to hike tariffs on Chinese imports to 25 percent in January. Instead, he said the increase would be delayed as talks to reduce the trade disparity between U.S. and Chinese goods continue.