Fentanyl That Could Kill 32M Seized After Probes At 2 New Jersey Retail Stores

Probes at two New Jersey retail stores led to a combined 195-pound, $30 million fentanyl bust involving four people. Authorities said it is the largest amount of the deadly drug ever recovered in New York City's history.

Authorities said the amount of fentanyl was enough to provide 32 million lethal doses of the drug, which every year causes the number of overdoses across New Jersey and New York to skyrocket.

Investigations of suspects that trafficked fentanyl at either The Home Depot in Woodbridge or the Walmart in Manahawkin led to a combined seizure of more than 270 pounds of narcotics. The drugs, which have a street value of more than $30 million, included more than 195 pounds of pure fentanyl, New York City authorities said.

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The probes escalated on Aug. 1, when agents and detectives from New Jersey and New York recovered 140 pounds of pure fentanyl from a residential building in the 85-00 block of 120th Street in Kew Gardens, Queens, according to information from the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York

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In addition to the pure fentanyl, agents and detectives recovered 22 kilograms of fentanyl mixed with other narcotics, 5 kilograms of heroin and 6 kilograms of cocaine, for a total of 213 pounds of narcotics, according to authorities.

Prior to the discovery, agents observed Rogelio Alvarado-Robles, 55, and Blanca Flores-Solis, 51, both of Queens, driving in a silver Mercedes-Benz with Florida license plates as they traveled to the Walmart in Manahawkin, authorities said.

In the Walmart parking lot, Alvarado-Robles took a shopping bag from an unidentified male and then joined Flores-Solis, who had already entered the store, authorities said.

Inside the Walmart, Alvarado-Robles put the shopping bag in a backpack that Flores-Solis had been carrying. Both then left the Walmart and returned to their car, in which Alvarado-Roble placed the backpack, authorities said.

Alvarado-Robles and Flores-Solis then traveled to the Kew Gardens address and pulled into the garage. After they parked, agents approached them and recovered what appeared to be 1 kilogram of cocaine from the backpack, according to authorities.

Agents and detectives obtained a search warrant for an apartment associated with the men. Inside, they found four suitcases and a purse containing numerous kilogram-sized packages of narcotics, including fentanyl.

Alvarado-Robles and Flores-Solis have each been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Several weeks later, at about 6 p.m. on Sept. 5, detectives and agents from the NYPD’s Queens Narcotics Major Case Squad and NJ-DEA stopped a vehicle at West 161st Street and the Major Deegan Expressway, not far from Yankee Stadium, and recovered 55 pounds of narcotics.

NYPD laboratory analysis results returned last week revealed that almost all of the narcotics were a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, authorities said.

In the hours leading up to that seizure, authorities were conducting surveillance near The Home Depot in Woodbridge off State Route 9. On the afternoon of Sept. 5, detectives said they saw a tractor trailer with California license plates pull into a rear parking lot.

Two hours later, Edwin Guzman, 35, and Manuel Rivera-Santana, 32, both of the Bronx, allegedly approached the rear lot and met with two men who had been observed inside the tractor-trailer. Together they walked to the far side of the truck, authorities said.

Shortly afterward, Guzman and Rivera-Santana headed back toward the front of the store, with Rivera-Santana carrying a large duffel bag. Rivera-Santana allegedly placed the bag in a Toyota Sienna and climbed inside.

Detectives and agents followed the Toyota across North Jersey and the George Washington Bridge to the Major Deegan Expressway. Authorities pulled the vehicle over after it had exited near West 161st Street.

Police observed the duffel bag in the back of the car, a luggage lock attached to its partially open zipper. After obtaining a court-authorized special narcotics search warrant, detectives opened the bag and recovered the 25-brick kilogram-size packages, each found to contain either pure fentanyl or a fentanyl/heroin mixture, authorities said.

Guzman and Rivera-Santana have each been charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

“The sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking. It’s not only killing a record number of people in New York City, but the city is used as a hub of regional distribution for a lethal substance that is taking thousands of lives throughout the Northeast,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan. “The success of these two investigations underscores the critical importance of collaboration. Each of the law enforcement partners made a significant contribution to the removal of 270 pounds of lethal narcotics from the black market.”

NYPD Special Narcotics Prosecutor photo