An estimated $10 million worth of fentanyl wrapped in fish was confiscated in New York City, according to the city's Office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor and police.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin that is increasingly being mixed with drugs trafficked illegally -- such as heroin, cocaine and a variety of synthetic drugs, the special prosecutor's office said in a release.
The fish-wrapped fentanyl, weighing about nine pounds, was found Feb. 1 in the city's Bronx neighborhood after New York police detectives conducted surveillance on a person identified as Johnny De Los Santos-Martinez for alleged drug trafficking, the release said.
De Los Santos-Martinez was observed in a car with two white boxes, the release said. Upon searching the car after getting a warrant, police found two Styrofoam coolers containing three bricks of fentanyl wrapped in fish and a fourth brick inside a vacuum-sealed bag containing what appeared to be chili.
“The brick shaped packages each consisted of a kilogram of fentanyl and together could have yielded over a million lethal doses worth up to $10 million dollars on the street,” the release said.
De Los Santos-Martinez was arrested on drug charges and arraigned in court in Manhattan Feb. 2, with bail set at $150,000 cash or a $250,000 bond. His next court date is Feb. 28, the release said.