1.2 Pounds Of Fentanyl Seized, Rockland Man Arrested By US Postal Inspectors: DA Narcotics Task Force

VILLAGE OF WEST HAVERSTRAW, NY — A narcotics scheme that took advantage of the postal service has been broken up, according to authorities.

The Rockland County District Attorney's Office announced that its Narcotics Task Force investigators teamed together with United States Postal Service inspectors to arrest 35-year-old Yamil Caraballo, of the Village of West Haverstraw, on March 5.

The DA's Office says that Caraballo was charged with criminal possession of half a kilogram of fentanyl, and is suspected of receiving packages containing deadly amounts of fentanyl powder in the U.S. Mail, over the past three months.

The charge of felony first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance carries a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years, according to the DA's Office.

"Justice is teamwork," Rockland County DA Thomas E. Walsh II said. "I want to thank the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their partnership as well as our district attorneys and Narcotics Task Force-supporting agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Suffern, Ramapo, and Haverstraw Police Departments, that contribute their time, personnel, and expertise to this program. Together, this collaborative work helped remove 1.2 pounds of fentanyl from Rockland County and led to the arrest of this individual. Lives were protected, and our community is safer today because of the coordinated work of our law enforcement partners and the shared commitment to keeping deadly drugs, and those who traffic them, off our streets."

According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, its mission includes interdicting and removing drugs from the mail, in addition to investigating and arresting individuals and disrupting domestic and international drug trafficking organizations. The NY Division Contraband Interdiction and Investigations Task Force includes law enforcement officers from the NYPD's Criminal Enterprise Investigations Section and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"Postal inspectors relentlessly remove prohibited items and illegal narcotics, like fentanyl, from the U.S. Mail to protect both our employees and the public," Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector In Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's NY Division said. "In addition, our partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, such as the Rockland County DA’s Office Drug Task Force, help keep dangerous narcotics out of our communities."