NYC Man Accused Of Trafficking 'Unusual,' Deadly Drug Mixtures

NEW YORK CITY — A man accused of trafficking dangerous mixtures of drugs was indicted Monday in New York on drug possession charges.

In a news release, New York Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan announced the man, Juan Perez-Pichardo, faces charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first, second, third and fifth degrees, as well as a charge of criminally using drug paraphernalia in the second degree.

According to the release, the man was found in August to have some $500,000 worth of drugs hidden in his apartment, enough to cause 50,000 lethal overdoses.

The special prosecutor said the makeup of the drugs included "unusual" and potentially deadly mixtures of heroin, fentanyl, tramadol and methamphetamine.

Perez-Pichardo was arrested on Aug. 13 after a DEA raid on his home in the 2400 block of Walton Avenue in the Bronx. The raid turned up a hidden compartment in a shower wall stuffed with brick-shaped packages containing a brown powder substance, the prosecutor said.

A test from the NYPD lab confirmed three of the bricks contained a mixture of heroin, fentanyl, tramadol and methamphetamine. A third brick, found in a bedroom, was contained heroin, fentanyl and tramadol.

All told, DEA agents found nearly four pounds of suspected narcotics, 10 bottles of liquid ketamine, quinine and $1,000 cash. The release stated Perez-Pichardo's apartment also contained a kilo press, scales, a grinder, ink pads, stamps and envelopes used to measure individual doses.

“Drug traffickers are monopolizing on the potency of fentanyl by mixing it with other controlled substances," DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said in a statement. "We have seen fentanyl mixed with heroin, mixed with cocaine, and now being mixed with meth, heroin and tramadol. This is a warning to users that what you think is one drug, when in fact it could be a toxic cocktail.”

The arrest and ongoing prosecution is carried out by the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which is made up of members from local, state and federal agencies.

“The excellent investigative work of attorneys and law enforcement officers undoubtedly saved lives. We seized large quantities of a substance with highly lethal potential — a combination of highly potent stimulants mixed with powerful narcotics — and all the equipment needed to put 50,000 stamped bags filled with it out on the street for sale,” prosecutor Brennan said in a statement.