Carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer considered 100 times stronger than fentanyl — the narcotic currently responsible for the most fatal overdoses — has been seized in Suffolk County for the first time, authorities announced.
The seizure was made during a longtime narcotics investigation that recently led to charges being filed against four suspects. John Sims, Tyeisha Kisswani, Robert Day, and Adrian Spooner were each charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and all but Spooner were charged with conspiracy.
“As hard as it is to believe, carfentanil is even more potent and more lethal than fentanyl,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said. “The influx of this drug in Suffolk County is alarming and poses a clear and present danger to the public. We will prosecute traffickers responsible for bringing such poisons into Suffolk County to the fullest extent of the law.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public alert warning that carfentanil is increasingly being found in communities nationwide. While fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin — 2 milligrams of which can be a lethal dose — carfentanil is considered 10,000 times stronger than morphine.
Prosecutors said the Gang Task Force uncovered the drug ring allegedly sold carfentanil, fentanyl, and cocaine in Suffolk during a seven-month-long undercover investigation between January and July of this year. Sims allegedly sold more than half of an ounce of carfentanil to an undercover officer on July 23, according to investigators.
Authorities also seized a loaded .357 revolver, a high-capacity ammunition feeding device, cocaine, cash, digital scales, and packaging materials upon executing search warrants in the case, prosecutors said.
Sims, 40, of Freeport, was ordered held without bail on Sept. 30. Bail for 36-year-old Spooner of Bay Shore was set at $100,000 cash or $1 million partially secured bond on Sept. 25. Kisswani, 39, of Freeport, was released without bail. All three pleaded not guilty. Sims and Kisswani each face up to 25 years in prison, while Spooner faces a maximum of 14.
“I’m looking forward to reviewing all the discovery and vigorously defending Mr. Spooner and court,” Robert Macedonio, the Islip Terrace-based attorney for Spooner, said.
Sims’ attorney declined to comment. Kisswani’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment. Day, 65, of Hempstead, remains at large.
“This news, just as we are starting to see a decline in fentanyl deaths is disheartening, but again reinforces the importance of prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery supports,” said Jeffrey L. Reynolds, president and CEO of the Garden City-based nonprofit Family & Children’s Association. “There will always be another, more powerful and deadlier drug. As law enforcement deals with the supply side of the equation, we’ve got to do a better job reducing the demand.”
