Man Who Ran Opioid Mill Out Of His Passaic County Basement Gets 10 Years In Prison

PATERSON, NJ — A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for running an opioid mill out of Passaic County. Authorities seized more than 17,000 wax folds of heroin and fentanyl from Rafael Brito, aka "Chiquito," and his girlfriend during the takedown that led to their arrests.

Brito, 35, of Paterson pleaded guilty to first-degree maintaining a controlled dangerous substance facility.

“Let this sentence serve as a warning for drug traffickers who bring these dangerous substances into our communities,” said Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. “We will continue to disrupt the opioid market in cities throughout New Jersey through collaborative investigations with local police and our law enforcement partners across the state.”

His girlfriend, Rosanny Prado, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and was admitted into a pretrial intervention program.

Brito and Prado were arrested March 3, 2020 at their Paterson home. Detectives with a search warrant discovered an active opioid mill in their basement. They seized more than 17,000 wax folds of suspected heroin and fentanyl, along with milling equipment and packaging materials.

Ink stamps seized included brand names linked to 10 fatal and 8 nonfatal overdoses: “Empire” (four fatal, five nonfatal overdoses), “Panda” (three fatal overdoses), “100%” (two fatal overdoses), “777” (one fatal overdose), “Bat” (one nonfatal overdose), “BEE” (one nonfatal overdose) and “Call Me” (one nonfatal overdose).

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