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A 52-year-old man might withstand life behind bars for his position in working a “tablet mill” out of an Upper Manhattan basement — the place thousands and thousands of {dollars} value of medicine and manufacturing tools have been seized this week, federal officers stated.
Juan Efren Paulino was busted Wednesday evening on the Washington Heights constructing the place he and others had stashed about 200,000 drugs — along with blocks, baggies, and buckets of powder; three commercial-grade tablet presses; and one industrial mixer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York stated in an announcement.
The powders have examined constructive for fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, in line with preliminary spectrometry assessments.
Lab testing remains to be pending for the drugs and powders.
After he was arrested, Paulino — also referred to as Freddy — claimed he was within the basement to acquire a pattern of cocaine to offer to somebody, the feds stated.
Paulino was charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of narcotics, officers stated.
Both counts carry a compulsory minimal sentence of 10 years and a most sentence of life in jail, the feds stated.
“This tablet mill was a ticking time bomb for New Yorkers,” Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III stated in an announcement. “With the quantity of fentanyl seized, probably numerous deadly doses have been taken off the streets.”
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated the seizure helped deal a heavy blow to the Big Apple’s drug trafficking operations.
“Last evening’s seizure not solely eliminated substantial portions of lethal narcotics from the streets, however it additionally hit drug sellers of their pockets and probably saved the lives of numerous New Yorkers affected by habit,” Williams stated. “Thanks to the work of our regulation enforcement officers, one other alleged narcotics trafficker’s operation has been disrupted.”
The El Dorado Task Force — made up of officers from the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and the NYPD — labored on the investigation, Williams stated.
