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State authorities and Paterson police arrested Rafael “Chiquito” Brito, 33, and his girlfriend, Rosanny Prado, 38, in the raid on the East 36th Street basement operation, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
The home was equipped with outdoor surveillance cameras connected to two video monitors set up over tables where the drugs were processed, he said.
Detectives seized rubber stamps used to ink brand names on the wax folds, some of which were linked to 18 overdoses overall, Grewal said.
These included:
- “Empire” (4 fatal, 5 nonfatal overdoses);
- “Panda” (3 fatal overdoses);
- “100%” (2 fatal overdoses);
- “777” (1 fatal overdose);
- “Bat,” “BEE” and “Call Me.”
“By shutting down this drug mill and preventing over 17,000 doses of suspected heroin and fentanyl from reaching our communities, we undoubtedly saved lives, particularly given the fact that we seized ink stamps bearing brand names that have been linked to at least 10 fatal overdoses,” Grewal said.
Some of those killed have come from Bergen, Rockland and Orange counties and beyond, including Pennsylvania and upstate New York, authorities said.
“We appreciate the cooperation of our state partners to make Paterson safer and improve the quality of life for our residents,” Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim M. Baycora said. “The sum is definitely greater than the parts when it comes to this kind of teamwork among law enforcement agencies to stop drug trafficking.”
Brito and Prado were arrested following an investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau and the Paterson Police Department Narcotics Division.
They’re charged with operating a fortified drug production facility, among other counts and remained held Wednesday in the Passaic County Jail pending detention hearings.
Deputy Attorney General Anna Gildea is prosecuting the case for the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.
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ALSO SEE: At street level it was a typical inner-city storefront, with a ground-floor business that offered travel, tax and mortgage services. But upstairs, Paterson police said, people were selling sex.
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