Million Dollar Mount Vernon Drug Bust Nets Huge Fentanyl Seizure

MOUNT VERNON, NY — Several million dollars in narcotics, including what is alleged to be fentanyl, was seized last week in Mount Vernon following a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF), New Jersey State Police and the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, according to Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah.

Approximately 25,000 pills thought to be fentanyl and roughly 38 kilograms of other alleged narcotics, including heroin and cocaine, were found packaged and prepared for distribution in a Mount Vernon apartment. Many of the suspected fentanyl pills were stamped “M30.” The substances have been sent to the DEA’s Northeast Regional Laboratory for analysis.

The bust comes as a string of fentanyl-related overdoses have rocked the Hudson Valley.

SEE ALSO: Drug Users Warned How To Spot Fentanyl-Laced Heroin

“Drug overdoses and overdose deaths are plaguing Westchester and our region. We are committed to doing everything we can to get drugs off of our streets and out of our communities and to help fight opiate addiction,” Rocah said in a statement announcing the operation. “We are grateful for the hard work of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force – including the DEA, NYPD and New York State Police – and the New Jersey State Police for helping us in this effort.”

While police and federal agents were seizing the drugs in Mount Vernon, a search warrant was also being served at a Yonkers home. That search netted an estimated $35,000 in seized cash.

A suspect was later arrested in New Jersey by New Jersey State Police in connection with the seized narcotics. The individual arrested in New Jersey was charged in Mount Vernon with two counts of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, pending extradition to Westchester, the DA’s office said.

“Two milligrams of fentanyl can cause death and taking this large amount of fentanyl out of distribution has saved lives,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said. “This seizure is indicative of how traffickers are making street drugs highly potent and highly addictive by adding fentanyl. This is a warning that local traffickers vary methods of distribution, some selling only fentanyl and some selling mixtures of fentanyl and other drugs. Therefore, drug users beware, what you may think is one drug, is really laced with something more powerful and deadly.”

SEE ALSO: Fatal Overdose: Yonkers Police Warn of Fentanyl-Tainted Cocaine

The operation was coordinated with the the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force. The task force is a law enforcement partnership which includes members of the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police.

The search warrants for the Mount Vernon and Yonkers homes were executed by task force members. State police K-9 Liam also provided valuable assistance.