Six Bronx men were detained and charged with operating a fentanyl packaging mill inside a Bronx apartment building in the borough’s Mt. Eden district, prosecutors said Tuesday, Jan. 13. According to officials at the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP), over six kilograms of fentanyl (13 pounds), carrying an estimated street value of more than $1 million, were recovered from the apartment, including tens of thousands of dosage-sized glassine envelopes ready for distribution. They stated law officials also seized large amounts of cocaine from the apartment.
Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s SNP; Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark; Christopher Roberts, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force Division; New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch; and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the arrests of Wilson Monegro Rodriguez, 49; Juan Tavarez, 38; Angel Costillo, 41; Yalxon Antonio, 42; Vlatimir Diaz, 44; and Christopher Bello Tavarez, 24.
“Thanks to the hard work and diligence of our investigators and prosecutors, a large-scale fentanyl packaging operation run out of an 88-unit residential building in The Bronx is shuttered,” said Brennan. “Fentanyl can be lethal, even in miniscule amounts, and over 13 pounds of it were recovered in a raid on the building. I thank the investigative team for their eight-month long investigation into this organization, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and all law enforcement partners for their commitment to this investigation.”
Prosecutors said members of the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) Group T-22 conducted the investigation with assistance from the SNP’s investigators unit.
They stated that law enforcement apprehended the six defendants on Thursday night, Jan. 8, inside 1505 Grand Concourse, Apartment 3B, and conducted a court-authorized search. NYDETF Group T-22 consists of agents and policemen from the DEA task force division, the NYPD, and the New York State Police.
For her part, Clark said, “These defendants allegedly planned to profit off poisoning our neighbors with over $1 million worth of fentanyl. We must stop narcotics traffickers in their paths. Thanks to the work of Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan and our law enforcement partners, six alleged drug traffickers will be held accountable, and the Bronx is safer.”
According to prosecutors, the six defendants are accused under two criminal complaints filed in Manhattan Criminal Court, with each facing one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree and one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Roberts said, “Once again, we see an ordinary apartment being used as a fentanyl packaging distribution hub, placing not only the residents of that building, but the surrounding community, in grave danger. The recovery of more than six kilos of fentanyl, including 50,000 glassines, from this Bronx apartment shows the blatant disregard the six individuals arrested had for their neighbors and their lives.”
He added, “Removing these deadly drugs from our city streets is thanks to the hard work and dedication of our DEA Task Force Division’s Special Agents, Task Force Officers, and our partners in targeting those responsible for its distribution. The DEA remains focused on a Fentanyl Free America.”
Meanwhile Tisch also said the alleged drug traffickers put an entire community at risk, adding, “We know how deadly even the smallest trace of fentanyl can be, and the 13 pounds of narcotics seized, packaged and ready for distribution, represents an enormous volume of poison that will never reach New Yorkers.”
She added, “Criminal networks like this have no place in our city, and the NYPD will continue working with all our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who flood our streets with illicit drugs.”
Meanwhile, James said the investigation halted a major drug trafficking operation and prevented a large number of dangerous narcotics from reaching the streets. “The sale of such drugs perpetuates a cycle of substance abuse which poses a significant threat to safety and quality of life within our communities,” he said. “Our State Police members commit to continue working with our federal and local partners to combat the vast spread of illegal drugs in New York State.”
The court heard that beginning in May 2025, members of NYDETF Group T-22 established physical and electronic surveillance at 1505 Grand Concourse. Over the course of several months, agents and investigators observed suspected narcotics mill workers entering and exiting the building, sometimes carrying in equipment associated with narcotics packaging or bringing out trash bags containing surgical masks and materials associated with mixing and packaging narcotics.
Prosecutors said that in August 2025, suspected packaging mill workers were seen carrying a box appearing to contain a paper shredder, a piece of equipment known to be used to mix narcotics and separate powder from wrappers.
They said monitoring in December indicated increasing activity at the alleged narcotics packaging mill, so agents and officers acquired a court-authorized search warrant for 1505 Grand Concourse, Apartment 3B. They stated that at about 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 8, agents and detectives entered the third-floor apartment and found the six defendants in one of the two bedrooms. They reported finding around $17,000 in cash in a dresser drawer in this bedroom, as well as $5,000 elsewhere in the flat.
They claimed that in the other bedroom, a glass-topped table had been set up for drug packing with all of the necessary equipment, including grinders, a sieve, empty glassine envelopes, surgical masks, and other supplies. They estimated approximately 50,000 glassine envelopes had already been filled and packed, and the glassines might have generated $500,000 in street sales. They reported that further bricks of fentanyl and cocaine were also seized from the flat.
They said law authorities also seized a paper shredder coated with white powder, as well as the original box, which looked identical to the one found inside in August. They stated that more than six kilograms of narcotics were seized, and the results of DEA laboratory analysis on the collected chemicals are pending.
Brennan complimented Clark and praised SNP’s special investigations bureau and investigators section, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, the DEA’s task force division, the NYPD, and the New York State Police for their contributions to the investigation.
The defendants are deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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