'Tranq' turns up in Queens self-storage units
JAMAICA, Queens (PIX11) -- An accused drug trafficker from Queens was allegedly stashing fentanyl mixed with xylazine, the animal tranquilizer, at a CubeSmart self-storage facility in Queens, according to an indictment recently filed by Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan.
The CubeSmart is located on Jamaica Avenue near 179th Street.
"It is astonishing how quickly xylazine has saturated the drug supply in New York City," Brennan said. "The combination of xylazine and fentanyl is particularly lethal because xylazine does not respond to the overdose-reversing drug, naloxone."
Robert Oliver, who lived close by on 161st Street in Jamaica, was followed from his home on Jan. 26 by members of the El Dorado Task Force, which investigates money laundering.
Oliver traveled to La Quinta Inn and Suites on Queens Boulevard, where he was stopped by Homeland Security agents and other members of the task force.
When Oliver was asked to open the trunk of his white Lexus, the agents and officers discovered more than $50,000 in cash, which was vacuum packed with heat sealant in clear plastic bags.
The agents said Oliver had a key ring, and a couple of the keys on it had a red, plastic covering with the logo CubeSmart.
When the investigators secured a court-authorized warrant, they searched units 4172 and 5166 at the CubeSmart storage facility and said they found nearly 20 kilos of fentanyl, a man-made opioid. At least one of the kilos was laced with xylazine, the animal tranquilizer known on the street as "tranq."
Xylazine was approved 50 years ago by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an animal sedative and pain reliever. It was never meant for human consumption. The FDA recently sought to limit xylazine imports into the United States, but the sedative is often purchased online from Chinese websites.
Tranq has been making national headlines in the last month.
PIX11 News was among the first TV stations to visit Philadelphia, where the horse tranquilizer is mixed into 90% of the drug supply, causing unsightly ulcers on the skin of many users that can lead to finger or limb amputations. PIX11 News learned that tranq was present in 20% of the fatal overdoses in New York City, always mixed with another drug like heroin, cocaine or fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Administration just issued a Public Safety Alert about tranq being mixed with the deadly fentanyl, which has driven up fatal overdose rates nationally in the last decade. More than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses in a 12-month period between August 2021 and August 2022.
Prosecutors initially convinced a judge to set a high bail of $750,000 cash or $1.1 million bond, but that was lowered by a second judge to $100,000 cash or $300,000 insured bond. Over the People's objection, a partially secured bail bond was approved for Oliver. His next scheduled court date is May 31.