New York City authorities bust massive amount of heroin, fentanyl branded as ‘COVID-19,’ ‘Drop Dead’

Three drug dealers who used "COVID-19" and "Drop Dead" to mark their heroin and fentanyl loads were busted in New York City last month with $5 million worth of drugs, prosecutors said Friday.

"This seizure of 40 pounds of heroin and fentanyl has saved lives," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "The fact that the packagers used 'COVID-19' as a brand name illustrates the callousness of these alleged traffickers, as opioid overdose deaths surged during the pandemic." The indictment charges alleged traffickers Hector Morillo, 46; Jaime Artiles, 47; and Freddy Hernandez-Reyes, 44, with operating as a major trafficker in possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees. They were all arraigned Friday.  On June 11, agents with the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force Group T-22 were surveilling the two apartments at 1730 Montgomery Avenue. At 5:15 a.m., they observed Artiles park a Honda Pilot, followed by Reyes carrying a weighted-down bag out of the building to the car.