Federal law enforcement officers last week made a stunning discovery while apprehending a fugitive in an apartment in the Bronx. They uncovered 12 kilograms (25 pounds) of fentanyl and cocaine, as well as $100,000 in cash.
The US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrived at 536 Kappock St, Apt 6E in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx on the morning of May 8 to execute an arrest warrant for 43-year-old fugitive Aracely Ortiz, wanted for fraud in New Jersey. The search of the two-bedroom apartment led to the seizure of drugs, prompting a request for a search warrant.
At 1:35 PM on the 8th, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF), with assistance from the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office (SNP) investigative unit, conducted a search of the apartment. Multiple glassine envelopes filled with fentanyl, weighing scales, and drug packaging materials were found on a table in one of the bedrooms. Three brick-shaped blocks of fentanyl and two blocks of cocaine were discovered inside a safe in the closet. In another bedroom, six blocks of cocaine, three glass jars containing fentanyl, 10 suspected drug packages, approximately $100,000 in cash, and a bill-counting machine were found. The total weight of the seized drugs exceeded 12 kilograms (25 pounds). Along with Ortiz, 36-year-old Jonathan Corona, who was about to depart the apartment, was also arrested.
Both Ortiz and Corona have been charged by the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office with two counts of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.