Enough fentanyl to kill 32 million people seized in NYC drug bust

NEW YORK — Agents made a record fentanyl bust in New York and seized enough fentanyl to kill 32 million people, according to WPIX.

Officers seized nearly 270 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine worth $30 million during separate busts, law enforcement officials said Monday. They also arrested four people.

“The sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan.

Investigators first recovered more than 140 pounds of fentanyl during a raid on a Kew Gardens apartment along with nearly 59 pounds of fentanyl mixed with other narcotics.

A fentanyl dose weighing just two to three milligrams can be deadly. The amount of pure fentanyl seized could have yielded approximately 32 million lethal doses.

They arrested Rogelio Alvarado-Robles and Blanca Flores-Solis in that bust.

Investigators also recovered 55 pounds of fentanyl and heroin in a September seizure in the Bronx. They took two people — Edwin Guzman, 35, and Manuel Rivera-Santana, 32 — into custody.

Fentanyl is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and is increasingly found mixed into the illicit narcotics supply in New York City. The drug is driving a spike in fatal overdoses.

The number of fatal overdoses far outpaces the number of homicides in Queens, District Attorney Richard Brown said

“We are facing a new and increasingly deadly crisis in our communities,” Brown said. “These two investigations that led to the seizure of these drugs will undoubtedly save lives and we will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to combat this growing epidemic.”