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The seizure took place on the Manhattan side of the Lincoln Tunnel on Wednesday, Sept. 28, when DEA agents stopped a New Jersey woman.
The drugs were found when the DEA Task Force was conducting surveillance as part of an ongoing investigation into narcotics trafficking when they allegedly observed Latesha Bush, a 48-year-old Trenton, New Jersey, resident carrying what appeared to be a black tote bag wrapped around a large object as she entered a vehicle in front of 475 10th Avenue in Manhattan, said Frank A. Tarentino, Special Agent in Charge, of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Upon stopping the vehicle, agents and officers allegedly found Bush in the rear seat, with two black tote bags and a yellow LEGO container also in the rear seat, he added.
Inside the LEGO container were several brick-shaped packages covered in black tape lying next to LEGO blocks. The black tape covering one of the packages had been partially opened, exposing multi-colored pills inside. A subsequent examination of the packages revealed they contained approximately 15,000 pills, the DEA said.
The fentanyl pills, in various colors, were destined for distribution throughout New York City and had been concealed in a LEGO box to deter law enforcement attention, said Tarentino.
The fentanyl pills were also imprinted with “M” and “30” to resemble “30 M”, Oxycodone Hydrochloride 30 mg pills, the DEA said.
The significant seizure, the largest to date in New York City, signals widespread distribution of these dangerous colorful pills, the department added.
“Rainbow fentanyl is a clear and present danger, and it is here in New York City,” said Tarentino. “Approximately 40 percent of the pills we analyze in our lab contain a lethal dose; and in a recent 15-week enforcement operation, DEA New York seized half a million lethal pills."
Bush was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday, Sept. 30. Bail was set at $25,000 cash/$150,000 insurance company bond/$100,000 partially secured surety bond.
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