A suspected drug trafficking operation has been busted in Queens. Officers searched a home in Queens Village early Wednesday morning and found more than seven pounds of cocaine and heroin with traces of fentanyl.

Police said they also recovered several firearms, including a loaded rifle, a pistol and handguns.


What You Need To Know

  • Authorities found more than seven pounds of cocaine and heroin with traces of fentanyl inside a single-family home in Queens Village early Wednesday morning. Police said they also recovered several firearms at the location

  • A 10-year-old was sleeping on the second floor of the home when officers arrived — just a few feet from large quantities of illegal drugs, according to police

  • The Administration for Children’s Services was contacted, and that 10-year-old was removed from the home and placed into another person’s custody

“What makes this even more significant was that a 10-year-old child was in close proximity to these dangerous substances that [were] recovered at the location," NYPD Deputy Chief Jerry Sullivan said.

Authorities say a 10-year-old was sleeping on the second floor of the single-family home when officers arrived — just a few feet from large quantities of illegal drugs.

“I don’t know how anybody could think this is okay," Sullivan said. "I just described the layout. The kid’s bedroom, across the hall is fatal doses of illegal narcotics. Across the hall from where a 10-year-old is sleeping. It is completely unacceptable.”

The fentanyl bust comes days after an infant died after being exposed to fentanyl at his Bronx day care. Two people are facing federal charges.

“This particular drug, fentanyl, is absolutely lethal. It’s worse than anything we’ve ever seen," said Bridget Brennan, the city’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor. She says fentanyl is now showing up in 80% of overdose deaths in New York City.

“Fentanyl has almost completely replaced heroin on the street scene in New York City, and it’s also often mixed with other drugs," Brennan said.

Authorities say a kilogram of fentanyl was stored on top of play mats that children use for napping at the day care. Three other children also overdosed but survived. 

“One of the things we can all do is learn how to use Narcan. It can revive somebody who suffered from an overdose. In fact, it was used on these children at the daycare," Brennan said.

Police said five people who lived at the house in Queens Village are facing several charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance and acting in a manor injurious to a child.