NYPD make largest fentanyl bust in NYC’s history recovering pills worth $9M from Bronx apartment

A DEA task force have carried out the largest fentanyl bust in New York City history blowing out of the water the previous record which was broken just days prior.

Around 300,000 rainbow fentanyl pills and 22 pounds of the drug in powdered form were seized from an apartment in the Bronx with a combined value of $9million, say city officials.

A loaded Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine and a box of ammunition was also discovered in a closet in the apartment, prosecutors said in a press release. 

Erickson Lorenzo, 30, and Jefry Rodriguez-Pichardo, 32, were discovered in the apartment on Friday. Police allegedly found Rodriguez-Pichardo hanging from a third floor window sill with no fire escape beneath him.

Other items found include 11 GPS devices and a hydraulic device for opening doors.

Just last week 15,000 multi-colored fentanyl pills were recovered in a LEGO box in Manhattan. 

The fentanyl seized by the DEA Task Force last Friday – 300,000 rainbow pills and 22lbs in powdered form

A loaded Tec-9 semi-automatic pistol was found in the Bronx apartment where the drugs were recovered along with an extended magazine and a box of ammunition

The most recent bust was lead by the DEA’s Long Island Task Force in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies.

Lorenzo and Rodriguez-Pichardo were both arrested at around 6.10am on Friday, October 7.  

The two were allegedly in different bedrooms of the third floor apartment and Rodriguez-Pichardo was hanging from the window sill on the outside of the building when DEA agents discovered him.

The 22 pounds of powdered fentanyl was found between the kitchen, bedroom and living room and wrapped in clear plastic packaging, prosecutors say.

The approximately 300,000 multicolored fentanyl pills were inside two closets in the hallway of the apartment, which was located at 4030 Bronx Boulevard, and were in zip lock bags and organized by color.

The approximately 300,000 multicolored fentanyl pills were in two closets in the hallway of the apartment, which was located at 4030 Bronx Boulevard, and were in zip lock bags and organized by color

Frank Tarentino, the DEA agent in charge of the operation, said: ‘There is no question this seizure of poisonous fentanyl saved lives.

‘In today’s world, the potential to overdose is dangerously high. There is no quality control in these fake pills and it only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to be lethal.’

The DEA have claimed that the rainbow colored fentanyl pills are part of a marketing scheme by Mexican drug cartels to drive addiction among kids and young adults.

They claim the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel are responsible for mass producing the pills.

Since August these pills, which come in various brightly colored shapes and sizes, have been recovered in 26 states throughout the US, the DEA claim.

Some of the pills in the Bronx apartment looked like pharmaceutical-grade drugs such as Xanax and oxycodone, part of a scheme by drug trafficker’s to deceive consumers.

The 22 pounds of powdered fentanyl was found in the kitchen, bedroom and living room and wrapped in clear plastic packaging, the prosecutors say

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Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the US. Of the 107,622 deaths in the country in 2021 66 percent were related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, CDC data shows.

Fatal overdoses are also on the rise. In 2021 they increased by nearly 15% from 93,655 deaths estimated in 2020.

This record-breaking bust comes around week after 15,000 pills were recovered in Manhattan on September 28. They had been hidden in plastic bags in a LEGO box and were being carried in a tote bag by a woman on 10th Avenue, another release from prosecutors said.

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement following that bust: ‘Disguising fentanyl as candy — and concealing it in children’s toys — will never hide the fact that fentanyl is a deadly poison that harms our communities, our families, and our city.’ 

However, in the same statement it is indicated that the drugs were merely in the LEGO box ‘to deter law enforcement attention,’ an apparent contradiction.

On September 28 the fentanyl pills were found in a LEGO box in Manhattan, the NY Special Narcotics Prosecutor said

According to the prosecutors release last week’s fentanyl bust in the Bronx was lead by the DEA’s Long Island District Office Task Force, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Hempstead Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.