According to the New York Daily News, DEA agents have arrested a major drug kingpin in Queens, NY along with his employees and $12 million worth of heroin and fentanyl.
Agents discovered an undisclosed amount of heroin, 1,000 fentanyl pills and $200,000 in cash. Luis Martinez, along with his workers Sofia Medina, Maria Altagracia Berroa, and Jacqueline Sosa de Espinal, was arrested.
“This drug den contained nearly $12 million dollars’ worth of narcotics and was like an opioid landmine capable of dispersing hundreds of thousands of heroin doses throughout [the] Northeast,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan.
According to the report from the authorities, “Two bedrooms in the apartment were set up for packaging heroin […] In one, agents found 31 kilogram-sized brick packages wrapped in duct tape allegedly containing heroin. They also discovered an additional 6 kilos of loose powder inside plastic containers and bags.”
“The shuttering of an assembly line able to pump out millions of street-ready heroin packages and deadly counterfeit fentanyl pills will save lives across New York City and our entire region,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan. “The volume of lethal drugs flooding our city is causing a record number of overdose deaths. This investigation succeeded because of the expertise and cooperation of our federal and local partners.”
Agents also found packaging for the dope which read, “Red Scorpion,” “The Hulk,” “Universal,” “Hard Target,” “Last Dragon, “Dope” and “Venom.”
Martinez, who was pegged as the ring leader, was hit with several charges including criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminally using drug paraphernalia and operating as a major drug trafficker. His bond was set at $750,000. His workers face charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and using drug paraphernalia. Their bail was set at $400,000, $220,000, and $200,000.
