Fentanyl Packaging Mill Dismantled in Bronx Apartment Building: Six Arrested, over 13 Pounds of Fentanyl
Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, 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, Juan TAVAREZ, Angel COSTILLO, Yalxon ANTONIO, Vlatimir DIAZ, and Christopher BELLO TAVAREZ following arraignments in Manhattan Criminal Court over the weekend.
Members of the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force (NYDETF) Group T-22 conducted the investigation with assistance from the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Investigators Unit.
Agents and officers arrested the six defendants on Thursday night inside 1505 Grand Concourse, Apartment 3B, and conducted a court-authorized search. NYDETF Group T-22 is comprised of agents and officers with the DEA Task Force Division, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the New York State Police.
The six defendants are charged in two criminal complaints filed in Manhattan Criminal Court and face charges of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First and Third Degrees.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said, “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. 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.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. 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.”
DEA Task Force Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher 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. 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.”
“These alleged drug traffickers turned a Bronx apartment into a large-scale fentanyl packaging mill, putting an entire community at risk,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “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. 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.”
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “This 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. 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.”
Beginning in May of 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. In August of 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.
Surveillance in December suggested increased levels of activity at the alleged narcotics packaging mill. Agents and officers obtained a court authorized search warrant for 1505 Grand Concourse, Apartment 3B. At approximately 7:35 p.m. on Thursday night, agents and investigators entered the third-floor apartment and observed the six defendants inside one of the two bedrooms in the apartment. Approximately $17,000 cash was found in this bedroom in a dresser drawer. Another $5,000 was found elsewhere in the apartment.
In the other bedroom, A glass-topped table had been set up for drug packaging with all the necessary equipment present, including grinders, a strainer, empty glassine envelopes, surgical masks, and other materials. Approximately 50,000 glassine envelopes had already been filled and bundled. The glassines could have netted $500,000 in street sales. Additional bricks of fentanyl and cocaine were also seized from the apartment.
Agents and officers seized a paper shredder coated in white powder, along with the original box that bore the same appearance as the one carried inside in August.
In total, more than six kilograms of narcotics were seized. The results of DEA laboratory analysis on the substances recovered are pending.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan thanked Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, and commended SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau and Investigators Unit, the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force, DEA Task Force Division, the New York City Police Department, and the New York State Police for their work on the investigation.
| Defendants | Charges |
| Wilson Monegro RodriguezBronx, NYAge: 49 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
| Juan TavarezBronx, NYAge: 38 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
| Angel CostilloBronx, NYAge: 41 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
| Yalxon AntonioBronx, NYAge: 42 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
| Vlatimir DiazBronx, NYAge: 44 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
| Christopher Bello TavarezBronx, NYAge: 24 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ct |
