Feds Announce Biggest Fentanyl Bust In NYC History

[UPDATE BELOW] Federal DEA agents seized a whopping 40 pounds of fentanyl from a Bronx hotel room last month and arrested a Colorado man in connection with the bust, according to a release from NYC's Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

On June 19th, agents conducting surveillance during an investigation into narcotics trafficking in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx say they noticed Carlos Ramirez, 25, put a package wrapped in black tape on the floor of his car's backseat. Investigators found this behavior suspicious, so they confronted Ramirez, who allegedly told them he'd just come from Room 708 at the Umbrella Hotel at 681 Elton Avenue in the neighborhood. Officers proceeded to the hotel, where they found a duffel bag containing 17 packages of a tan powdered substance, according to the office of the Special Narcotics Investigator.

Though agents initially mistook the powder for heroin, it turns out it was fentanyl, an opioid pain medication that is 50 times stronger than heroin. Feds seized all 17 packages and arrested Ramirez, who was arraigned in Manhattan Federal Court yesterday on four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Officials say it was the largest fentanyl bust in NYC history. "The interdiction of this fentanyl headed for our streets is nothing short of extraordinary," NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said in a statement. "This poison could have resulted in up to 7 million overdoses." Indeed, fentanyl was involved in 44 percent of all overdose deaths in NYC in 2016, as reported by Newsweek in June, and drug dealers often mix it into heroin (and occasionally cocaine) because of its extreme potency.

1,374 people died of overdoses in New York City last year, marking an increase of 46 percent since 2015.

Ramirez, who hails from Lakewood, Colorado, had his bail increased from $50,000 to $200,000 yesterday, a move his attorney Howard Greenberg told the Daily News was "[t]he biggest crock of s--- in the history of fentanyl." Greenberg told the Daily News, "It’s just another example of how the special narcotics Nazis throw their weight around in courtrooms in Manhattan seeking gratuitous bail increases."

Greenberg did not immediately respond to Gothamist's request for comment.

Update 12:19 p.m.: Ramirez's attorney, Howard Greenberg, provided Gothamist with the same statement he gave to the Daily News, adding, "Next time I have a defendant out on bail in a narcotics case pending arraignment in Supreme Court in Manhattan, I hope I have the stones to tell him to head for the hills and never look back."