Men Get Prison in New Jersey's Largest-Ever Fentanyl Bust

Two men snared in the largest fentanyl bust in New Jersey history were sentenced to prison this week. 

Jesus Carrillo-Pineda, 31, and Daniel Vasquez, 28, were arrested last year as New Jersey State Police seized nearly 100 pounds of fentanyl, a potent opioid that’s 50 times greater than heroin.

Authorities said the amount of fentanyl seized could have killed 18 million people since doses as small as 2 to 3 milligrams can be fatal.

Carrillo-Pineda, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison on a charge of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and another seven years in prison on a charge of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

Vasquez, of Arizona, was sentenced to six years in state prison on a charge of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

“The 100 pounds of fentanyl trafficked into our state by these drug dealers could have generated enough lethal doses to kill the entire populations of New Jersey and New York City combined,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a press release announcing the sentences.

Carrillo-Pineda and Vasquez were arrested late last June in North Bergen after New Jersey State Police busted the two transferring 40 kilograms of fentanyl in duffle bags from a tractor-trailer to a Mercedes Benz.

A third man was also arrested in the Bergen bust, but charges against him were dismissed this week.

Carrillo-Pineda and Vasquez were also charged in connection with another seizure the following day in Willingboro. Police seized five kilograms of fentanyl and 40 kilograms of heroin in that bust.

A fourth man, 38-year-old Omar Zeus Rodriguez, is still on the loose after the bust in Willingboro. Police say detectives found him loading the heroin and fentanyl into a Range Rover.