Logo

Agents dismantled a sprawling Queens drug mill Monday, seizing $12 million worth of heroin, 1,000 fentanyl pills and $200,000 in cash, officials said.

“The shuttering of an assembly line able to pump out millions of street-ready heroin packages and deadly counterfeit fentanyl pills will save lives across New York City and our entire region,” said Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan in a statement.

Agents busted alleged major trafficker Luis Martinez and three women accused of helping him package drugs at the facility inside 63-16 Forest Avenue in Ridgewood.

On Feb. 8, at about 4 p.m. agents from the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Unit observed Martinez exit the building with a backpack. Officers stopped Martinez and allegedly found $200,000 in cash in the backpack, according to a press release.


  Agents busted alleged major trafficker Luis Martinez and three women accused of helping him package drugs at the facility inside 63-16 Forest Avenue in Ridgewood. Special Narcotics Prosecutor Agents busted alleged major trafficker Luis Martinez and three women accused of helping him package drugs at the facility inside 63-16 Forest Avenue in Ridgewood. Special Narcotics Prosecutor

The agents searched the two-bedroom apartment and found 31 bricks, wrapped in duct tape, each containing a kilo of heroin in addition to loose powder, officials said. The heroin haul totaled 39 kilos.

On a tabletop, there were 100,000 glassine envelopes each filled with a dose of heroin –stamped with the names “Redo Scorpion,” “Last Dragon”and “Venom,” the release said.

Agents seized a 1,000 blue fentanyl pills, 26 cellphones and a range of packaging equipment.

“This drug den contained nearly $12 million dollars’ worth of narcotics and was like an opioid landmine capable of dispersing hundreds of thousands of heroin doses throughout the Northeast,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan.

In an exclusive interview with The Post last month, Donovan said that the COVID-19 pandemic had “exacerbated” New York’s opioid crisis.

The New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration had seized a stunning 404 kilos of fentanyl in 2020 — a 59 percent spike from the prior year. The surge was even more jarring for methamphetamine. More than 760 kilos were seized in 2020, compared to the prior year, representing a 214 percent jump, Donovan said.


  The New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration had seized a stunning 404 kilos of fentanyl in 2020 — a 59 percent spike from the prior year. Special Narcotics Prosecutor The New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration had seized a stunning 404 kilos of fentanyl in 2020 — a 59 percent spike from the prior year. Special Narcotics Prosecutor

Brennan has echoed similar concerns. In a statement last week, she said the city had reached a tragic milestone amid the pandemic.

In the first half of 2020, more people died of drug overdoses than during the same time period in any prior year, she said, citing data from the city Health Department.

Martinez is charged with operating as a major trafficker, criminal possession of a controlled substance and other raps. Sofia Medina, Maria Altagracia Berroa and Jacquiline Sosa De Espinal are charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminally using drug paraphernalia. All four defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy