A suspected Mexico cartel leader was arrested for smuggling more than 44 pounds of fentanyl into New York City, authorities disclosed on Tuesday.
Francisco "Gordo" Quiroz-Zamora, who is purportedly the head of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, has been charged with drug-trafficking conspiracy.
In late 2017, authorities confiscated some of the fentanyl in a Bronx hotel, where the drugs were hidden in a duffel bag on top of a vending machine. Five more pounds of fentanyl were discovered in a luxurious stash house on Central Park West, where authorities also found a loaded gun and cash.
In total, 44 pounds of fentanyl were seized, which is enough to kill 10 million people, according to authorities involved in the bust.
Quiroz-Zamora was captured during a sting operation in late 2017 when he arrived in New York by train at Penn Station to secure money from an undercover agent who was posing as a drug dealer. The cartel leader was set to make a nice buck, selling a kilo of fentanyl for between $45,000 and $50,000.
According to the New York Daily News, the amount of fentanyl coming into the city has skyrocketed, from 35 pounds in 2016 to 491 pounds in 2017.
Quiroz-Zamora and five co-defendants are due for arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday.
