In New Jersey two men were arrested over the weekend.
“We stopped $150 million worth of opioids from getting into the Northeast and into over 15 million users' hands,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said.
Luis Aponte, 48, of California, allegedly drove a tractor trailer to a rest stop in Bloombury, New Jersey on Friday. On Saturday, he met up with Denny Diaz, 29, of Philadelphia, who gave him around seven kilograms of fentanyl, DEA said in a release.
Agents from DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested the two and found 13 kilograms of fentanyl and five kilograms of heroin inside Aponte’s tractor trailer, according to the agency.
The two have been charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, DEA said.
“Recent statistics show that in the United States nearly 200 people die from drug overdose every day,
By removing trafficker’s weapons of mass destruction,
we are saving lives.”
Aponte and Diaz appeared in Newark federal court on Monday. They could face between 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $10 million, DEA said.