By Alicia Venter
aventer@queensledger.com
A man has been indicted on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, standing accused of transporting two kilograms of fentanyl from Suffolk County to Queens for the purpose of selling the drugs for profit.
Dennis Carrol, 31, of Evergreen Road in Flanders, Long Island, was stopped in his car at 188th Street in Hollis on Nov. 28 at approximately 3:30 p.m. by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents. In a search of his car, they discovered two plastic bags containing the two kilograms of fentanyl valued at $80,000, according to a release from the Office of the Queens District Attorney.
According to the release, the amount of fentanyl recovered is enough to produce approximately 20,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills.
Carrol was arraigned on Monday, Dec. 12 on a three-count indictment. He has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The arrest comes after the District Attorney’s Major Narcotics Unit of the Major Economics Crime Bureau, in conjunction with the DEA’s New York Division, conducted an investigation of Carrol through the month of November. This investigation involved utilizing court-authorized surveillance of the defendant’s activities during the month.
“Fentanyl is the most dangerous illicit drug on the street today and it presents the most serious threat to public health and safety in the United States.” said Frank Tarentino, DEA Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division.In 2021, 107,622 Americans died from drug poisonings and over 66 percent are directly related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Seizures like this demonstrate DEA’s dedication and commitment to working with our law enforcement colleagues to bring to justice those who continue to flood our city streets with poison.”
DEA Laboratory testing reveled that six out of ten fake prescription pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl this year, an uptick from the previous year that saw four out of ten counterfeit pills containing such a dose.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, there have been 315 suspected fatal overdose cases in Queens County so far in 2022 — an estimated 50 percent increase from last year. Of these deaths, approximately 76.3 percent have been attributed to fentanyl.
“That is why this case is important and why my office will continue to work relentlessly to get this poison and its merchants off of our streets,” Katz said in a statement.
Carrol has been ordered to return to court on Jan. 10, 2023.
With this indictment, Carrol has been formally charged with the crime by a grand jury. He has not been found guilty of committing the crime.
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