Police found a large amount of fentanyl, other narcotics and drug paraphernalia hidden under the floorboards of a daycare where a one-year-old boy died of a fentanyl overdose in New York City, The Guardian reports. Following a tip about a trapdoor in the floor, authorities searched the Divino Niño daycare center in the Bronx again after fentanyl residue was found underneath a mat this month where children had napped. Investigators initially discovered a kilogram of fentanyl that was kept on top of play mats, in addition to scales and kilo presses used for compressing the deadly synthetic opioid.
On Saturday, the 36-year-old daycare owner Grei Mendez was jailed on a count of depraved indifference murder in addition to drug charges after one-year-old Nicholas Dominici died from apparent fentanyl poisoning. Three other children including an eight-month-old girl and two two-year-old boys were hospitalized after appearing to have been exposed to the drug. Investigators charged Carlisto Acevedo Brito, a 41-year-old man who rented a room from Mendez, with federal narcotics conspiracy charges. On Thursday, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Mendez and Brito in connection with Dominici’s death as well as the additional poisonings of the other children.