A child died Friday at a New York daycare center from inhaling fentanyl, a synthetic drug hidden under the carpet where children sleep, U.S. authorities said.
Nicholas Dominici had been in daycare for a week and died Friday of a drug overdose. Three other children were hospitalized after also being exposed to this drug at daycare.
Police suspect that the children, aged between eight months and two years, inhaled fentanyl. Three children received Narcan, an emergency drug used to reverse an opioid overdose.
Two people were charged with murder and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking.
At the daycare center, authorities found two pounds of fentanyl “under a rug where the children had been sleeping,” NYPD Chief Detective Joseph Kenny said. Police also found three presses used to package drugs.
The daycare’s owner, Grei Mendez, 36, and her tenant who lived in one of the rooms, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, face federal charges of possession of narcotics “with intent to distribute, resulting in death , and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death,” federal prosecutors said.
“We allege that the defendants poisoned four babies and murdered one of them as they ran a drug operation out of a daycare center.”, said Damien Williams, U.S. attorney in Manhattan on Tuesday. “A daycare is a place where children should be kept safe, not surrounded by a drug that can kill them in an instant.”
Surveillance footage and phone records show that Grei Mendez called her husband after discovering the children were sick and only then called 911. The man then arrived at the daycare center and took several full shopping bags from the child’s room.
The daycare owner’s lawyer says his client denies the allegations and that he was unaware the drugs were being stored there.
Grei Mendez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito are being held without bail because authorities consider them a flight risk. Both face a life sentence.
On September 6, health inspectors conducted a surprise inspection of the daycare center but found no violations.. “I’m really sorry, but one of the things my child care inspectors are not trained to do is look for fentanyl. But maybe they should.’said New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.
Source: DN
