Juan Cruz of the Bronx arrested after transporting 3 kilos of fentanyl, Nassau officials say

Nassau County law enforcement officials announced Friday the arrest of a Bronx man for transporting 3 kilos of pure fentanyl, a quantity of the dangerous synthetic opioid they said has the potential to kill more than 1 million people.

Juan Cruz, 50, of 198th Street, was stopped by police after Second Squad detectives received a tip that he was bringing the drug into the county on Wednesday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said. The Drug Enforcement Agency says 1 kilo of fentanyl has the potential to kill up to 500,000 people.

“It's enough drugs to wipe out the entire population of Nassau County and probably a third of Suffolk,” Ryder said, adding that the drugs had a street value of $60,000.

Cruz pleaded not guilty to felony counts of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a narcotic drug, as well as a traffic infraction for operating an unregistered vehicle.

Ryder said Cruz was not known to his department before his arrest Wednesday, but believes he is a “major dealer” operating in the county.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Cruz was remanded without bail at his arraignment in District Court Thursday.

“This is very much an active investigation and I'm extremely limited in what I can comment on,” Donnelly said. “But I will tell you that fentanyl is cheap and it's plentiful. And it's coming into the county in droves.”

Ryder said Cruz is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who was deported in 2012. Ryder said when police attempted to fingerprint him, they learned he had burned off his fingerprints after being previously deported. He said for that reason, he was unable to speak to any criminal record Cruz may have.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he believes the fentanyl was brought to the United States through Mexico.

The arrest was announced at a news conference where Blakeman and police also spoke about four illegal guns that were seized in separate incidents over the past two days. Ryder said the intent of the briefing was to show Nassau County residents “how dangerous the job is that police are doing.”

Ryder said one of the men charged in a weapons case Thursday had been arrested four times in the past seven months.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.