Massive stash of coke, fentanyl uncovered in NYC apartment when US Marshals close in on fugitive

Joe Marino, Amanda Woods
·2 min read
Investigators stumbled upon a massive drug mill – with a 25-pound stash of cocaine and fentanyl – at a Bronx apartment where they showed up to nab a woman for a New Jersey fraud case, officials and sources said Monday.
Investigators stumbled upon a massive drug mill - with a 25-pound stash of cocaine and fentanyl - at a Bronx apartment where they showed up to nab a woman for a New Jersey fraud case, officials and sources said Monday.

The hunt for a fugitive led authorities to a massive Bronx drug mill where dealers stashed stacks of cash and 25 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl, sources and cops said.

The US Marshals NY / NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force closed in on New Jersey fraud suspect Aracely Ortiz, 43, at a sixth-floor apartment on Kappock Street in Spuyten Duyvil around 6 a.m. Wednesday, according to federal prosecutors and law enforcement sources.

But they found more than what they bargained for in the two-bedroom apartment and stumbled into the middle of a huge drug operation, according to the office of Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan.

A safe inside one of the bedrooms held five brick-shaped packages – three of fentanyl and two of cocaine, prosecutors said. DEA New York Division
A safe inside one of the bedrooms held five brick-shaped packages – three of fentanyl and two of cocaine, prosecutors said. DEA New York Division

In one bedroom, investigators found a glass-topped table holding numerous glassine envelopes filled with fentanyl, as well as a scale and other paraphernalia meant for packaging drugs, officials said.

A bedroom safe held five brick-shaped packages – three of fentanyl and two of cocaine, prosecutors said.

Six more brick-shaped packages of cocaine and three glass jars holding fentanyl were found in the second bedroom – plus 10 more packages of a substance that hasn’t yet been identified, officials said.

About $100,000 cash, plus a money counter, was also stashed away in the room, the feds said.

Both Aracely Ortiz, 43, and Jonathan Corona, 36, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, cops said. Google Maps
Both Aracely Ortiz, 43, and Jonathan Corona, 36, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, cops said. Google Maps

Field tests on the drugs found in the safe came back positive for fentanyl and cocaine – but the drugs still need to undergo laboratory analysis by the Drug Enforcement Administration, prosecutors said.

Ortiz was inside a bedroom when investigators descended on the apartment, and Jonathan Corona, 36, was leaving the room, according to officials.

Both were arrested and charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, cops said.

“This was another successful takedown of a fugitive, which led to an incidental discovery of serious drug-related activities,” U.S. Marshal Ralph Sozio said. “I want to commend the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, NYPD, and NYS Police for their tireless pursuit in apprehending our city’s fugitives, and in this case the seizure of fentanyl by the NYDETF, the leading cause of overdose deaths, off our city streets.”