Worse than fentanyl; 3 held with elephant tranquilizer

LAW ENFORCERS found it hard to ignore: The elephant tranquilizer in the bedroom.

Three suspects were busted for conspiring to peddle the lethal opioid carfentanil — a drug 100 times more potent than the fentanyl responsible for the death of Prince, authorities said Friday.

A cooperating witness made three large, separate carfentanil buys between Jan. 30 and March 28, leading to the arrest of the defendants, authorities said.

Emanuelli Rivers, 32, along with Pedro Disla Rojas, 38, and Miguel Escano, 30, all of the Bronx, were charged with conspiring to distribute opioids.

Each faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life if convicted.

Authorities found 100 grams of a white powdery substance in a Bronx apartment shared by Rivers and Rojas, with federal lab testing expected to determine if it was a carfentanil stash, officials said.

“A substance meant as an elephant tranquilizer should not be hitting the streets as a recreational drug,” said Manhattan Federal prosecutor Geoffrey Berman.

“Thanks to our law enforcement partners for their efforts to stem the tide of lethal opioids.”

Rivera and Rojas were busted together Wednesday after authorities with a search warrant descended on their Bronx basement apartment on Mount Hope Place.

Rivera was nabbed after taking an elevator to the basement and then exiting a short time later with the white powder as law enforcers watched, officials said.

Rojas was arrested inside the apartment, where investigators found an assortment of alleged drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Glassine envelopes stamped with the brand names “Sweet Dreams” and “Nasty Boyz” were discovered inside a bedroom, with what appeared to be drugs inside some of the baggies.

Authorities also found respirator masks commonly used by drug dealers handling potent substances like carfentanil, officials said.

Escano met directly with the cooperating witness on three occasions, selling 50 grams of carfentanil on Jan. 30 and then sealing a pair of 70-gram deals for the same drug on Feb. 20 and March 28, officials charged.

“Carfentanil is death, and drug dealers are packaging it for sale on the streets of New York,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent James Hunt.

The NYPD, federal Homeland Security and the New York State police joined in the case.

According to officials, the witness was charged two years ago in Massachusetts with heroin distribution and agreed to cooperate in hopes of a reduced sentence.