New York Police Officer Grace Rosa Báez and her boyfriend César Martínez were charged on suspicion of conspiracy to distribute dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin and cocaine..
The researchers of FBI and NYPD They say that officer Báez and Martínez They offered to sell large quantities of drugs to an informant and brought him a sample of fentanyl in a chewing gum container during one of several meetings over the past two weeks.
Báez and Martínez were arrested on Thursday near their apartment in Yonkers (NY) after a meeting to complete a transaction. Officers say they found a press and suspicious packages of drugs inside the apartment. Báez had been on modified duty since 2020 and under departmental investigation for alleged misconducthe noted CBSNews.
“Grace Rosa Báez swore an oath to protect and serve the people of New York City. As alleged, she flagrantly violated that oath by promoting poisons, including fentanyl and heroin, that are driving the deadly opioid crisis in the country and have been responsible for thousands of tragic deaths in this city and throughout the country,” commented the Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams in a statement.
“The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone who endangers our community through the sale of narcotics,” said Agent James Smith.
He NYPD commissioner, Edward A. Cabán said: “These charges are extremely disturbing. because there is no place for corruption within the NYPD. If found guilty of these accusations, this officer will have tarnished the shield she carried, as well as her sacred oath to New Yorkers. “She and her co-defendant will certainly have to pay the highest bill provided for by law.”
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be used to mix drugs such as cocaine or heroin and produce an effect up to 50 times stronger.
The growing fentanyl supply has exacerbated the city’s drug pandemic: the deadly opioid is detected in the 80% of overdose deathsaccording to the Department of Health (DOH). Several babies have even died this year in NYC from narcotic use in their homes and daycares.
Also at least 43 cases of fentanyl overdose, seven of them fatal, They are linked to two separate patterns of robberies at nightclubs in and around Manhattan dating back to September 2021.
“Fentanyl is the most significant threat to our public health and public safety,” Special Agent Frank Tarentino (DEA) highlighted in January. “It’s poison…. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Every day we have more seizures. In New York City there is a drug overdose every three hours. At the national level it is every five minutes, 295 a day.”
In 2022, New York municipal authorities launched a controversial campaign on public transportation with “tips” to consume fentanyl “safely,” which some described as counterproductive and irresponsible.