Federal prosecutors announced the indictments of five individuals for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine on Tuesday in Delaware, following an investigation that began after an overdose death in Chester County last November.
During a bust in Wilmington and a house raid in the Bronx borough of New York City, police were able to confiscate at least 33 pounds of drugs.
The haul contained the ultra-lethal narcotic fentanyl, baked crack cocaine and fentanyl, and xylazine, a horse tranquilizer commonly known as “tranq dope” and “zombie drug,” which has been connected to an increasing number of deaths.
As if that weren’t enough, a large quantity of packaged fentanyl was discovered buried in the woods outside of W. Rolling Mill Road in Hockessin, Delaware. Furthermore, $81,000 was taken in forfeiture.
According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, fentanyl is one hundred times more powerful than morphine. According to the DEA’s website, 500,000 people might be killed by just one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of fentanyl.
Federal prosecutor David Weiss of the District of Delaware has stated that the organization was headed by Bronx residents Henri Sosa-Gomez and Jamel Romero.
They delivered the pills to Leonel Abreau-Montero, Arison Hernandez-Acevado, and Christian Sanchez, three males from the Wilmington area who, according to Weiss, distributed them across Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other states in the vicinity.
A maximum of twenty years in federal prison has been proposed for each of the five accused.
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Weiss claimed that a major break in the case occurred in January when officials apprehended Romero and Abreu-Montero after they reportedly completed a deal in Wilmington.
Weiss’s office said in a press release that the property in the Bronx was raided by a hazardous materials team because “the amount of fentanyl and cocaine that had been cooked, combined, and processed” inside made the place too dangerous to enter.
The announcement also stated that agents discovered a kilogram press, as well as equipment for preparing and cooking drugs, as well as cutting agents, gas masks, and gas.
At the same time that Weiss announced the indictment, officials in Delaware reported an alarming increase in fatal overdoses, largely attributable to the addition of fentanyl to other substances including cocaine and xylazine.
The Delaware Division of Public Health reported 53 deaths from drug overdoses in only the month of January 2023. In comparison to January 2022’s low of 36, this is an increase of about 47%.
Authorities predicted last year that the number of fatal overdoses in Delaware will rise in 2022, and in 2021, 515 people lost their lives to drugs. It is currently unknown what the final death toll for 2022 will be.
Overdoses “are wreaking havoc on our community, and we will investigate and prosecute those who knowingly distribute drugs that kill,” Weiss said.
