LI authorities in first-of-its-kind bust of elephant tranquilizer carfentanil: Even more lethal than fentanyl

Suffolk County authorities for the first time busted a drug-peddling ring whose dealers were trafficking carfentanil — a lethal synthetic opioid used to tranquilize elephants.The narcotic is 10,000 times stronger than morphine and about 100 times stronger than fentanyl — and has already caused a string of overdose deaths in New York City, officials said.A seven-month Long Island investigation recently led to the indictments of four people who “sold copious quantities of carfentanil, fentanyl and cocaine on numerous occasions,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.“As hard as it is to believe – Carfentanil is even more potent and more lethal than fentanyl,” the Long Island DA said in a press release last week.“The influx of this drug in Suffolk County is alarming and poses a clear and present danger to the public.”Undercover cops, audio and video recordings and in-person surveillance helped build the case that led to search warrants and late-August raids on several different sites, Tierney said.Four Long Island suspects were indicted as a result: John Sims, 40, of Freeport; Tyeisha Kisswani, 39, of Freeport; Robert Day, 65, of Hempstead, and Adrian Spooner, 36, of Bay Shore.All four were hit with a litany of drug-sale and possession raps — and Sims, Kisswani and Day were each charged with two counts of conspiracy as well, Tierney added.Sims also earned a pair of weapon-possession charges after cops allegedly found a loaded .357 revolver and a high-capacity magazine in the house he shared with Kissawni.Sims was remanded after his Sept.

30 arraignment and will sit in jail until trial.If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.Kisswani, who faces the same sentence, was immediately cut loose because her charges were not bail eligible, Tierney said.

She’s due back in court Nov.13.Spooner — who allegedly sold cocaine about a dozen times during the first seven months of the year — was released after posting a court-mandated $20...