Accused Major Trafficker Indicted in Large-Scale Drug Operation near Bronx Courthouse
Over 40 pounds of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and counterfeit pills, plus two loaded guns and over $320,000 cash seized
A Bronx man was indicted as a Major Trafficker following an investigation that uncovered a large-scale drug stash house at 910 Sheridan Avenue. The residential apartment building is adjacent to the Bronx Family-Criminal Courthouse. Over $3 million dollars in drugs, including more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and approximately 1,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, were seized along with two guns and over $320,000 cash.
Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Susan A. Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Jersey Division, and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell announced the indictment against DUJUAN SOTO in conjunction with a scheduled arraignment before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Steven M. Statsinger.
The indictment, filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP), contains charges of Operating as a Major Trafficker, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First, Second, and Third Degrees, and Criminal Possession of a Firearm.
SOTO was arrested on March 29, 2022, following a short-term investigation by DEA New Jersey Division, Enforcement Group 2, and the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Narcotics Borough Queens North.
On the day of the arrest, agents and officers were conducting surveillance outside 910 Sheridan Avenue and observed SOTO leave the building at approximately 9:45 a.m. carrying a blue bag that appeared to contain a rectangular object. Agents and officers stopped SOTO after he entered a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in front of 190 East 162nd Street. They obtained court-authorization to search the vehicle and SOTO’s residence at 910 Sheridan Avenue, Apt. K.
At approximately 3:25 p.m. on that day agents and officers searched the Jeep and discovered the blue bag held a U.S. Postal Service package with approximately $216,500 in alleged drug proceeds inside. A dollar figure was written on the box.
During a search of SOTO’s residence, agents and officers recovered over eight kilograms of fentanyl (approximately 18 pounds) and over three kilograms of cocaine (nearly 8 pounds) from inside a locked closet in SOTO’s bedroom. Some of the narcotics were imprinted with a Mercedes symbol.
The closet also contained approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine packaged inside freezer bags and over 1,000 counterfeit oxycodone and alprazolam pills alleged to contain fentanyl, as well as multiple twists containing fentanyl and cocaine.
Underneath SOTO’s bed, agents and officers recovered two loaded 9mm pistols with additional ammunition. Agents and officers also seized over $107,100 cash, a money counter, digital scales, a vacuum sealer and two kilo presses used in packaging narcotics from the apartment.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan thanked Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and commended the work of SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau, DEA New Jersey Division and the NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Queens North.
“The volume and variety of drugs, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and two firearms recovered, signals that this was a fully operational illegal drug packaging and distribution center. It is hard to imagine a more audacious location than a building adjacent to the Bronx Family-Criminal Courthouse to set up a storehouse for deadly drugs like fentanyl, methamphetamine and the counterfeit pills that are saturating the black market in our city,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Brennan.
District Attorney Clark said, “We are grateful to have such great law enforcement partners with Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan, the NYPD and DEA, to continue to stem the tide of deadly drugs coming into our city. Fentanyl and methamphetamine are particularly destructive to lives and communities. This is one more effort to try to save our communities from the ravages of these drugs.”
“Many lives were saved as the result of this significant drug seizure when you consider that only two milligrams of fentanyl has the potential to cause a fatal overdose or poisoning,” said Special Agent in Charge Gibson. “The criminals involved in trafficking these drugs are only concerned with their own financial gain, and they do not consider the pain and misery associated with what they are doing. The DEA and our law enforcement partners are committed to pursuing these individuals to bring them to justice.”
“The NYPD and our law enforcement partners have shut down another major drug-trafficking operation in New York City,” NYPD Commissioner Sewell stated. “By dismantling such violent enterprises, and by holding accountable anyone who pushes poison on our streets, our highly skilled investigators are making all of our neighborhoods safer. I commend everyone involved from the NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Queens North, the DEA’s New Jersey Division, the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their collaboration and hard work throughout this important case.”
Defendant
Charges
Dujuan Soto
Bronx, NY
Age: 56
Operating as a Major Trafficker
CPCS 1st – 1 ct
CPCS 2nd – 1 ct
CPCS 3rd – 2 cts
Criminal Possession of a Firearm – 2 cts
