Queens Drug Dealer's Fentanyl Linked To 2 Fatal Overdoses: Feds

QUEENS, NY -- A Queens drug dealer whose fentanyl was linked to two fatal overdoses was arrested on Tuesday after selling the deadly drug to an undercover cop disguised as heroin, prosecutors said.

David Wickham, 35, faces years behind bars after he allegedly sold nearly 100 grams of fentanyl - a drug described as 50-100 times more potent than morphine - to the undercover cop out of his Jamaica home between August and December 2017, court documents say.

Phone records and witness statements also link at least two overdose deaths and one near-death to Wickham's fentanyl, which he often disguised as heroin - a significantly less potent opioid - while selling to the undercover cop, prosecutors said.

"As alleged in court filings, David Wickham sold fentanyl, a powerful opioid with potentially lethal consequences, which he represented to buyers on numerous occasions to be heroin," said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Cops found the fentanyl in a raid of Wickham's Queens home during his arrest, along with a scale, baggies, needles and a gun underneath his bed, court records state. He was charged in a Brooklyn federal court with conspiring to distribute and distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl in Queens.

If convicted, Wickham faces anywhere from 5 to 40 years in prison.

Wickham's arrest comes amid a drastic spike in drug overdoses throughout the United States driven largely by fentanyl.

Drug overdoses now top the list for the leading cause of death in Americans under 50 years old, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Synthetic opioids - including fentanyl - have led the charge, with overdose deaths doubling to nearly 20,000 between 2015 and 2016, according to the CDC.

Between 2014 and 2015, New York alone saw fentanyl overdose deaths spike by 135 percent, while heroin overdose deaths rose more slowly at 28 percent. That's largely because those taking fentanyl may either not understand how potent the drug is or be tricked by their dealers into believing the drug they're taking is heroin - as is the case alleged against Wickham - according to Angel Melendez, a special investigations agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Fentanyl is a killer, and drug pushers have been taking advantage of selling this highly addictive drug, preying on the vulnerabilities of people,” Melendez said.

Lead photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.