U.S. charges couple after deadly fentanyl is found on top of playmats at NYC day care
New York- The operator of a New York City day care and a relative are facing federal drug charges after a 1-year-old boy died and three other children became dangerously ill, apparently from opioids: a one-kilogram brick of fentanyl was found stored inside the day care.
Grei Mendez, 36, who operates Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx, was arrested over the weekend along with Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, her husband's cousin who was renting a bedroom inside the day care.
The pair initially faced local murder charges, but the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has now also lodged federal drug charges against them.
Medical teams had to use Narcan, the nasal spray that can reverse opioid overdose, on all four children. The New York Police Department says tests confirmed fentanyl, an intensely strong synthetic opioid that can be deadly in tiny doses, was present in the three surviving victims. "There, despite the daily presence of children, including infants, the defendants maintained large quantities of fentanyl, including a kilogram of fentanyl stored on top of children's playmats," according to an affidavit signed by Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Kyle Harrell.
Brito's room, which he rented for $200 a week, also held equipment suggesting a large drug operation: a "kilo press," authorities say, adding that the equipment is used to recompress drugs in powder form. Two other presses were found elsewhere in the day care.
The presses are "commonly used by narcotics traffickers at 'mills' or other locations where narcotic drugs are broken down, combined with fillers or other narcotics, and portioned for sale," the affidavit states.
