Photos from DEA New York Task Force Division
Drug Mill Across from Daycare Center and Playground; Near Public Middle School
The three defendants were arraigned on Wednesday night in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges contained in a criminal complaint filed by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor (SNP). Charges include Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First and Third Degrees, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Criminal Use of Drug Paraphernalia in the Second Degree, Criminal Facilitation in the Fourth Degree, and Unlawfully Dealing with a Child in the First Degree.
Bridget G. Brennan, New York City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Roberts, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Task Force Division (DEA-NYTFD), New York City Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch, and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James announced the arrests following arraignments.
Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said, “This enforcement action was a major blow to an illegal drug operation. More importantly, it was a rescue mission. Grinding chunks of fentanyl and filling thousands of tiny bags with the deadly powder in the same apartment with a two-year-old child reveals shocking disregard for human life. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our neighborhoods and our children from those who sell poison and profit off addiction.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said, “It is appalling to actively package fentanyl so close to a two-year-old, especially in a borough familiar with the deadly effects when children are exposed. Shutting down this packaging mill takes more than $500,000 worth of drugs off our streets protecting a neighborhood filled with children and schools. I thank our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their work to make the Bronx safer as a result of these arrests.”
“The discovery of an active fentanyl packaging mill inside an apartment where a two-year-old child was present is appalling and demonstrates a reckless disregard for human life,” stated DEA New York Task Force Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Roberts. “Even more disturbing, four other children, all under the age of 15, were forced to live in these dangerous conditions. A home should be a place where children are protected, not where their own parents put their lives at risk for criminal profit. The DEA will never tolerate those who endanger innocent children in pursuit of greed.”
“We know how dangerous even the smallest trace of fentanyl can be, but these defendants allegedly operated a fentanyl packaging mill that churned out over four pounds of this deadly poison,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “Even more disturbing, they put their own profits ahead of the safety of a two-year-old child found in the same apartment. But thanks to the work of NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners, this operation has been shut down, and these drugs will never reach our streets. I thank the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for their coordinated efforts to hold these individuals accountable.”
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “I applaud the collaborative work of our New York State Police members and law enforcement partners at all levels for their relentless efforts to keep illegal drugs off our streets. These individuals had no regard for the young lives they put at risk or whose hands these drugs may have fallen into. Together, we will continue to aggressively target and eliminate these operations and those who seek to destroy the quality of life for others.”
The investigation was conducted by the DEA New York Drug Task Force Division (DEA-NYTFD), Group T-23, with assistance from the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Investigators Unit. DEA-NYTFD Group T-23 is comprised of agents and investigators with DEA New York Division, the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the New York State Police, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
At approximately 1:24 p.m. on Tuesday, members of DEA-NYTFD Group T-23 were conducting surveillance outside 755 East 216th Street in the Bronx as part of an investigation into fentanyl trafficking and saw defendant Erik Jesus REYNOSO-BURGOS enter the front door of 755 East 216th Street. Several minutes later, Jose CORDERO-CONCEPCION left the building, carrying a weighted black shopping bag. Agents and officers stopped CONCEPCION and observed thousands of glassine envelopes containing alleged narcotics inside the bag. CONCEPCION was also allegedly in possession keys to 755 East 216th Street, Apt. 1F. The residence is located across the street from a daycare center and a playground and down the street from a public middle school.
Upon entering 755 East 216th Street, Apt. 1F to secure the premises while they sought a search warrant, agents and officers observed a bedroom to the left of the front hallway. They found a two-year-old child and the child’s mother, Ariendy JIMINEZ-HIDALGO inside the bedroom. As stated in court at the time of arraignments, it is believed that five children under the age of 15 lived in the apartment. Investigators observed children’s belongings in multiple rooms in the three-bedroom apartment.
Passing through the living room and kitchen towards the rear of the apartment, agents discovered a combined laundry/dining room with the door ajar. Inside they observed white powder, glassine envelopes, and what they recognized to be a fentanyl packaging operation. BURGOS was inside this room, allegedly engaged in packaging fentanyl. He was seated at a folding table with a pile of glassine envelopes filled with alleged narcotics on top.
Members of DEA-NYTFD Group T-23 froze the location and obtained a court authorized search warrant. At approximately 4:30 p.m., agents conducted a search of 755 East 216th Street, Apt. 1F. From inside the laundry/dining room they seized tens of thousands of packaged glassine envelopes of alleged fentanyl in various stages of completion. Two plastic bags contained packaged glassine envelopes that had been bound together in a brick shape for distribution. Additionally, thousands of loose glassines filled with fentanyl were seized, along with glassine envelopes containing fentanyl but not yet sealed shut. Glassines were branded “G.O.A.T. Greatest of all Time,” “Versace,” and “Exit 4.”
Preliminary DEA laboratory analysis of the seized narcotics identified fentanyl mixed with medetomidine, a potent veterinary tranquilizer. Additional laboratory analysis is pending.
All the equipment commonly used in packaging fentanyl was present in the room, including grinders, cutting agents, empty glassine envelopes, masks, heat lamps, and toaster ovens. A glass table in the same room had glassine envelopes filled with alleged narcotics that had not yet been sealed at the top.
Inside a rear bedroom that could be accessed only by walking through the room where the alleged narcotics packaging occurred, a box of ammunition was found in a closet. This room appeared to be used as a children’s bedroom and contained children’s clothing and toys.
In the front bedroom where the two-year-old child and HIDALGO had been present, agents and officers recovered cash from a nightstand and from a safe in a closet. Passports and identification for CONCEPCION, HIDALGO, and several children were recovered from this front bedroom.
A total of approximately $30,000 cash was recovered from the apartment, including from a closet in the living room and from under the kitchen sink.
At arraignments, bail was set at $150,000 cash or bond for CONCEPCION and $50,000 cash or bond for BURGOS. HIDALGO was ordered released on her own recognizance.
Bridget G. Brennan thanked Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and commended SNP’s Special Investigations Bureau and Investigators Unit, the DEA New York Task Force Division, the New York City Police Department, and the New York State Police for their work on the investigation.
The charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
| Criminal Complaint | Charges |
| Jose Cordero-ConceptionBronx, NYAge: 37 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 2 ctsEndangering the Welfare of a Child – 1 ctCriminal Use of Drug Paraphernalia 2nd – 2 ctsUnlawfully Dealing with a Child 1st – 1 ct |
| Erik Jesus Reynoso-BurgosBronx, NYAge: 34 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 1 ctEndangering the Welfare of a Child – 1 ctCriminally Using Drug Paraphernalia 2nd – 3 cts |
| Ariendy Jiminez-HidalgoBronx, NYAge: 42 | CPCS 1st – 1 ctCPCS 3rd – 2 ctsEndangering the Welfare of a Child – 1 ctCriminally Using Drug Paraphernalia 2nd – 2 ctsCriminal Facilitation 4th – 1 ctUnlawfully Dealing with a Child 1st – 1 ct |
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