New York City announces its largest fentanyl seizure in history, eclipsing record bust from last month - CNN

CNN  — 

Days aft national officials announced the largest rainbow fentanyl seizure successful New York City history, an adjacent greater quantity of the highly addictive substance has been found, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Two radical person been arrested and charged with aggregate cause and firearm charges successful transportation to the seizure connected October 7 astatine a Bronx flat building, prosecutors said successful a quality release.

Authorities recovered astir 300,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills wrong 2 closets successful the apartment, and much than 22 pounds of the cause successful powdered signifier were wrapped successful wide integrative packaging successful aggregate rooms, according to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York. The full sum of the drugs is worthy astir $9 cardinal successful thoroughfare value, officials said.

The historical seizure saved lives, according to DEA Special Agent successful Charge Frank Tarentino.

“Hundreds of thousands of lethal pills were lying successful hold successful a Bronx flat to beryllium unleashed onto our streets. In today’s world, the imaginable to overdose is dangerously high,” Tarentino said. “There is nary prime power successful these fake pills and it lone takes 2 milligrams of fentanyl to beryllium lethal.”

The seizure comes aft national officials announced past week that a pistillate has been charged with concealing astir 15,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills successful a Lego container arsenic portion of a cause trafficking strategy successful September. That seizure astatine the clip was besides deemed the largest of rainbow fentanyl successful New York City’s history.

Fentanyl is simply a synthetic opioid that’s highly addictive. It tin beryllium up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Rainbow fentanyl comes successful agleam colors and tin beryllium utilized successful pill signifier oregon powder.

“Rainbow fentanyl is the latest menace we look successful our combat against the opioid epidemic that sadly continues to ravage our communities – a multi-colored poison specifically designed to pull younger users,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.

And arsenic Halloween nears, officials person been informing families to beryllium especially vigilant regarding their children’s candy earlier they devour it.

The unsafe cause has been a large operator of fatal and nonfatal overdoses successful the US arsenic good arsenic the opioid epidemic.

Although determination has been a flimsy alteration successful caller months successful cause overdose deaths, the numbers stay high. About 108,000 radical died of a cause overdose successful the 12-month play ending May 2022 – which is down from the grounds precocious of much than 110,000 deaths reported successful the 12-month play that ended March 2022, CDC provisional information published Wednesday shows.

The latest overdose decease fig remains 32% than it was 2 years earlier and higher than immoderate different play earlier November 2021, according to the CDC data. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, were progressive successful much than two-thirds of deaths successful the 12-month play ending May 2022, and psychostimulants were progressive successful astir a third.

Correction: An earlier mentation of this communicative incorrectly described the seizure. It was the largest seizure of rainbow fentanyl pills successful New York history.