Dozens of brazen drug dealers turned a Bronx commercial shopping district into an open-air drug market rife with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and crystal meth that customers used on the street in broad daylight, authorities said Monday.
The deadly narcotics that flooded the Hub area of the South Bronx plagued the already struggling community, and were responsible for at least five overdoses that occurred in the area during the yearlong investigation, police and prosecutors said.
“These defendants allegedly operated in the Hub area, where shoppers, businesses and passersby had to endure flagrant drug dealing at all hours of the day,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “The residents should not have to live with such diminished quality of life.”
Investigators used wiretaps, surveillance and search warrants in a high-stakes takedown that resulted in a five-count indictment that led to 32 arrests and the seizure of 30 pounds of fentanyl, 12 pounds of crystal meth, a kilo of cocaine, five guns and $100,000 in cash, Clark said.
Four of the alleged ringleaders were charged with operating as a major trafficker, and face up to life in prison.
Other charges include criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance and conspiracy.
“For too long, drug dealers have illegally operated at the
Bronx Hub, preying on the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and creating a dangerous environment for the entire community,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
”But after a long-term case, NYPD investigators dismantled five drug trafficking rings that were responsible for supplying and distributing narcotics in the Hub, across the city, and throughout four different states.”
Tisch said the investigation began last year in February 2025 in response to community concerns about drug dealing and drug use in the area.
Not only did foot traffic drop, but commercial vacancy rates rose as local residents avoided streets where people were injecting drugs in broad daylight, even in front of an elementary school, she said.
Five trafficking rings were dismantled in the operation, Tisch said. The dealers and suppliers were caught on wiretaps bragging about their brands—Bugatti, TikTok, Prada, Bad Bunny—being too strong and causing people to “fall down.”
Tisch said the NYPD is planning to send extra officers to prevent more drug dealers from setting up shop in the area.