Duo Produced Fentanyl Pills At Home Across Street From Long Island School: Feds

WEST BABYLON, NY – Two men are accused of operating a fentanyl pill mill at a home across the street from a Long Island junior high school.

News 12 broke the news Thursday afternoon, reporting that DEA agents found more than 1,000 fake oxycodone pills that were actually fentanyl, which is 30-50 more potent than heroin, at a home at 675 Little East Neck Road in West Babylon Wednesday night.

Daniel O'Neil, 30, and Frankie Morano, 44, were arrested while wearing hazmat suits and respirator masks inside a garage at the home, which is across the road from West Babylon Junior High School, the Daily News reported.

O'Neil is from North Babylon and Morano is from Deer Park, according to a Newsday report. They are each charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

Google Maps image/Authorities say two men made fentanyl pills in a garage behind this home.

Fentanyl is a "powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent." Fentanyl, often used during and after surgery, is typically used to treat people with severe pain or to manage pain.

Fentanyl killed at least 220 people on Long Island in 2016 and it now outpaces heroin as the drug most often found in fatal opioid overdoses.

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children's Association in Mineola, spoke with Patch earlier this year about fentanyl's rise in popularity.

"The drug has become so popular precisely because it is so powerful," he said. "It's showing up in heroin but also in counterfeit Percocet, OxyContin and Vicodin. Heroin dealers will add some to batches as they look for a steady stream of customers in search of the most potent heroin."

There are literally thousands of heavily addicted folks in our region searching for the best and most cost-effective solution they can find, and the stakes continually get higher."

READ MORE: Face of Fentanyl: One Woman's Story Of Deadly Drug That's Surpassing Heroin In Long Island Deaths