Officials have reported that a group of nearly a dozen men have been apprehended for operating a significant fentanyl and heroin mill in the Bronx. The drug bust yielded around $4 million worth of potentially fatal drugs, with hundreds of thousands of them already packaged and ready for distribution.

Last week, authorities on the federal, state, and local levels conducted an operation to take down a drug operation. They successfully confiscated 400,000 packages of suspected heroin and fentanyl, as well as quantities of loose powdered narcotics from an apartment on the Grand Concourse, near East 168th Street, located in the South Bronx.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, law enforcement officials apprehended four out of the 11 suspects who were found hiding beneath solar panels on the roof of the drug den.

According to a statement from DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino, a fentanyl/heroin trafficking ring comprising of eleven members was apprehended while attempting to escape from the scene of a crime.

“Even though they tried to seek refuge under the solar panels on the roof, they were unable to escape the dangers of an active fentanyl mill containing hundreds of thousands of lethal doses. Everyone had to run for their lives.”

On Wednesday, the DEA arrived at the apartment after monitoring it for approximately a month. During their surveillance, they observed several individuals entering and leaving the premises carrying bags, a glass top table, chairs, and various equipment.

According to officials, Aremedis Rivera, 41, was the first to be seen entering the building at approximately 11 a.m. Juan Rivera, 44, followed a few hours later, as observed by agents and officers.

According to officials, Aremedis exited the building at around 5 p.m. and then proceeded to board a livery car. After traveling approximately seven blocks, he disembarked near Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center.

He was halted by the authorities, who confiscated the bags he was carrying.

According to federal authorities, a search authorized by the court later uncovered that the two bags contained around 100,000 glassine envelopes filled with heroin and fentanyl, which were shaped like bricks and wrapped in magazine paper.

Authorities stated that Heriberto Rivera, 43, was seen leaving the same building within an hour, followed by Luis Ledesma, 38, as per the investigators’ observations.