Opiates, other narcotics worth ‘several million dollars’ seized in Mount Vernon by joint police operation

Opiates, other narcotics worth several million dollars seized in Mount Vernon by joint police operation

Opiates and other narcotics including what is alleged to be fentanyl, all worth “several million dollars,” were seized last week in Mount Vernon following a joint investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF), New Jersey State Police and the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, DA Miriam E. Rocah said Monday in a press releases.

“Approximately 25,000 pills alleged to be fentanyl, many marked ‘M30,’ and an estimated 38 kilograms of alleged narcotics including heroin, cocaine and fentanyl were found packaged and ready for sale in an apartment in Mount Vernon,” said the release. A separate search in Yonkers resulted in the seizure of “an estimated $35,000 in cash.”

The substances were sent to the DEA’s northeast regional laboratory for analysis.

An individual was arrested in New Jersey by state police in connection with the seized narcotics and was charged in Mount Vernon with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, pending extradition to Westchester, the release said.

The release did not give the address of the Mount Vernon apartment or the name of the person arrested.

“Drug overdoses and overdose deaths are plaguing Westchester and our region,” said Rocah. “We are committed to doing everything we can to get drugs off of our streets and out of our communities and to help fight opiate addiction. We are grateful for the hard work of the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force—including the DEA, NYPD and New York State Police—and the New Jersey State Police for helping us in this effort.”

“The amount of lethal narcotics seized in this investigation is staggering,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “There is no doubt that this investigation saved lives, prevented addiction and made our communities safer. Large-scale operations of this magnitude are a testament to the effectiveness of multi-agency collaborations, which require complex coordination of personnel and a willingness to share information and intelligence at every level.”

The NYDETF comprises personnel from the DEA, New York City Police Department and New York State Police. The search warrants for the Mount Vernon and Yonkers locations were executed by the NYPD and NYSP with assistance from the DEA. NYSP K-9 Liam assisted in the search.