By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
Following a lengthy, year-long investigation, a major bust was made, with a drug trafficking leader and 12 others arrested in n Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
As reported by the NY Post, on Saturday, officials announced the citywide multi-agency bust involving narcotics and gun trafficking. As part of the operation, an undercover officer purchased large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin with a street value of more than $3 million, as per the Drug Enforcement Agency. There were 33 pounds of cocaine and 25 pounds of fentanyl mixtures seized during the bust, as well as an assault weapon and three guns.
Nelson Cruz,41, has been apprehended and named the ringleader. He is being charged with operating as a major trafficker. Another 12 persons were also arrested citywide with ties to the organization, as per two criminal court complaints filed on Saturday. The first arrest was made on June 7 and the final on June 15 after police executed search warrants at locations in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx where they found the large amounts of drugs and several guns.
As per the Post, the Drug Enforcement Agency began its investigation about a year ago by targeting defendant Manuel Suriel, who was allegedly selling cocaine at a restaurant in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Through Suriel, the undercover cop met Cruz, and started purchasing fentanyl in quantities of 100 grams. By January 2021, the investigation shifted to Cruz and his gang based out of the Richmond Hill and South Ozone neighborhoods in Queens. Investigators found that the crime ring would frequently make hefty narcotics sales, worth roughly $10,000-$16,000. A wiretap investigation found that Cruz was getting imported shipments of cocaine from Puerto Rico and fentanyl from Mexico, and was selling them throughout NYC. By February, he was also dealing with guns, as per officials. The investigation was led in unison by the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force Group T-23 and the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Investigators Unit.
“Dismantling fentanyl trafficking organizations is our priority because out of all illegal drugs, fentanyl is killing the most people. This investigation highlights how drug traffickers are armed and dangerous, selling drugs and guns on our city streets,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarantino III said in a statement.
In the first two quarters of 2021, there were 1,233 overdose deaths in NYC, compared to 965 overdose deaths during the same period in 2020, according to a Health Department report. “The overdose epidemic is taking one New Yorker from us every four hours, and is a public health crisis that that has touched far too many people,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.
“The CDC reports overdose deaths are up by at least 10% in New York City as of May 2020, and surging across the nation. Fentanyl is a major factor, tragically claiming the lives of those with struggling with substance use in isolation during the pandemic, when supportive services are less available. Investigations targeting large-scale fentanyl traffickers have never been more crucial,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan had said in a previous bust.
