NEW YORK CITY — Seven men were indicted for selling heroin and fentanyl, a potent synthetic drug blamed for the spike in fatal overdoses, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The investigation into the ring started last year after officers linked a batch sold by one of the suspects to the overdose death of a 23-year-old woman in her Port Richmond home, Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said.
"The spike in deaths is due to highly potent fentanyl, mixed with heroin and cocaine or packaged and sold alone," Brennan said in a statement. "It is critical that we cut off the supply of drugs and bring those who are profiting from this tragedy to justice."
As part of the takedown, officers arrested Mark "Butter" Patterson, Javier Solis and Robert Barbosa of Staten Island, Brandon Felix, Marcus Alexander and Odell Wilson of Newark and Frank Hopkins of Queens.
During the investigation, the crew sold $20,000 worth of heroin and fentanyl under the brand names "Passion," "Blue Magic," "Dope," "Family Guy," "Bull," and "Frank Lucas" 11 times to undercover officers, prosecutors said.
In the largest sale, Patterson sold undercover officers 843 glassine envelopes of heroin and fentanyl to an office for $4,980 in May.
The city has been in the midst of an opioid epidemic for decades, hitting Staten Island and The Bronx the hardest.
Last year, the number of people who died from overdoses in the city climbed up 46 percent which officials blamed on the introduction of fentanyl — a synthetic opioid about 50 times more potent than heroin.
The latest takedown, dubbed "Operation Smack Down," started Oct. 21 when officers responded to a 911 call of a woman who overdosed in the bedroom of her Myrtle Avenue home.
Officers administered the anti-overdose drug naloxone and took her to Richmond University Medical Center, but she died the next day, prosecutors said. An autopsy found a mix of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in her system.
As part of the District Attorney Michael McMahon's stated initiative to investigate every overdose like a crime scene, officers found empty glassine envelopes stamped "Passion" in her home and connected Patterson to the sale.
The wiretap investigation eventually identified Felix, Alexander and Wilson as heroin and fentanyl suppliers based in Newark and Hopkins as a cocaine supplier based in Jamaica, Queens.
Patterson was eventually arrested July 6 for selling heroin to a customer in a West Brighton apartment building and has been in custody since.
Officers in New York and New Jersey arrested the other six Wednesday morning. Felix was in possession of about 30 grams of heroin and cocaine when he was picked up by state police, prosecutors said.
Patterson, Felix, Alexander, Wilson and Solis were indicted on criminal sale of a control substance and conspiracy charges.
Barbosa, a dealer in the operation, was hit with conspiracy charges and Hopkins with criminal sale of a controlled substance.
