86 Pounds Of Heroin Seized From Suspected Queens Drug Hub

QUEENS, NEW YORK — A drug packaging mill inside a humble Queens apartment had 86 pounds of heroin poised to hit the streets, authorities said.

Authorities shut down the suspected drug hub during a Wednesday afternoon bust that resulted in four arrests and the seizure of the heroin, 1,000 fentanyl pills and $200,000 cash, according to a release.

“This drug den contained nearly $12 million dollars’ worth of narcotics and was like an opioid landmine capable of dispersing hundreds of thousands of heroin doses throughout Northeast," said Ray Dononvan, special agent in charge of the DEA's New York Division, in a statement.

The bust was a joint investigation the city's Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor, DEA, Group T-21 and Homeland Security Investigations.

It centered around a Ridgewood apartment on Forest Avenue near Menahan Street, where Luis Martinez, 48, lived, according to a release.

Agents stopped Martinez as he walked down the street and found he carried a bag with $200,000 inside, the release states.

The bag also contained keys to Martinez's home at 63-16 Forest Ave., Apartment 2A, where Sofia Medina, 50, opened the door, according to the release. Agents saw a heat wrapped bag in the living room that is often used to package drugs, the release states.

As authorities looked around the apartment, they heard noises from behind a closed door, according to the release. They opened the door and found Maria Altagracia Berroa, 54, and Jacqueline Sosa De Espinal, 43, hiding inside a bathroom with the lights off, authorities said.

One bedroom inside the apartment had an extensive suspected heroin packaging set up with 31 pressed, brick-shaped packages containing what authorities believe is 1 kilogram of heroin each, along with 6 kilograms of loose powder inside plastic containers and bags, according to a release.

About 1,000 blue pills similar to oxycodone were also found, but are suspected to be counterfeits containing fentanyl, authorities said.

"A tabletop held approximately 100,000 individual dose glassine envelopes filled with heroin, as well as empty envelopes and stamps," the release states. "Glassine envelopes bore various brand names, including 'Red Scorpion,' 'The Hulk,' 'Universal,' 'Hard Target,' 'Last Dragon,' 'Dope' and 'Venom.'"

All four people arrested face drug-related charges, topped by Medina's felony count of operating as a major trafficker.