An alleged kingpin in a major New York City-based fentanyl and heroin trafficking ring was arrested by the NYPD during an early morning raid of his Rye apartment, following a year-long probe that has now led to more than 20 arrests.
The NYPD busted into the Central Avenue home of Jose Garcia at 6:30 a.m. on March 19 and, along with Westchester County police, apprehended the 51-year-old for his alleged role in a network of three interconnected drug rings. The groups, authorities said, distributed “prolific” amounts of crack cocaine and mixtures of fentanyl, heroin and xylazine — an illicit drug known as “tranc” — in a low-income housing complex in Brooklyn and other places.
The drugs have been linked to at least four overdose deaths, prosecutors said.
In total, 13 arrests were made on March 19 in connection with the trafficking rings.
“These organizations trafficked fentanyl and other drugs that claimed multiple lives across the city and terrorized our streets with violence and illegal guns,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. “These arrests mark a significant step forward in reclaiming our neighborhoods from a dangerous drug gang and restoring a sense of safety and well-being.”
Garcia, who is married with four children, allegedly ran the fentanyl and heroin trafficking organization, operating out of New York City and Westchester, according to prosecutors.
He is believed to have regularly sold “thousands” of mixtures of heroin and fentanyl, stamped with names like “Strong Medicine,” “Top Secret,” “Adidas,” and “Fan Duel.” The “Strong Medicine” stamp, prosecutors said, was associated with at least two of the overdoses near the Marcus Garvey Apartments in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.
A member of his trafficking ring also overdosed from “Garcia’s product” within the last two weeks, prosecutors said at his March 21 arraignment.
Approximately $50,000 in cash from drug sales and $300,000 in jewelry was discovered at Garcia’s Rye apartment, police said. Garcia allegedly used the Bronx home of an associate, Angel Martinez, as a drug stash house and “primary location” for the operation where he received multiple kilos of narcotics for distribution each week.
The drugs were then sold throughout Brooklyn and the Bronx, according to prosecutors.
When searching Martinez’s apartment on March 19, police uncovered large bags of drugs, multiple kilo presses, materials for packaging heroin/fentanyl mixtures, and two guns.
Garcia’s shocking arrest in the idyllic Westchester suburb concludes more than a year-long investigation launched by the NYPD in February 2024, targeting the proliferation of drugs within the Marcus Garvey Apartments. Westchester County police assisted in the undercover operation.
Investigators utilized wiretaps and electronic surveillance, and undercover cops made drug buys as part of the sting. The investigation yielded 23 arrests, beginning in July 2024, and the seizure of 18 guns, two swords, and a taser, as well as more than eight kilos of drugs and $250,000 in cash, according to prosecutors.
The probe rooted out the street level dealers as well as the distribution organizations that operated out of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Westchester.
Roshawn Lucky, of Brooklyn, led the Marcus Garvey Village organization and controlled a network of narcotics dealers that flooded the housing complex with drugs, according to prosecutors. Garcia supplied fentanyl and heroin, while Bruce Gravenhise, of Queens, was responsible for the cocaine distribution.
Gravenhise, 41, was arrested in late January but was arraigned with new charges in March. Lucky, 49, was also arrested on March 19.
“I hope this investigation brings relief to residents of Marcus Garvey Village from the dangers posed by rampant drug dealing by sellers with ready access to firearms,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan said.
Garcia was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree. He was remanded at his arraignment and his next court date is scheduled for April 9 in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Prosecutors, however, expect to charge Garcia with additional counts, including operating as a major trafficker, according to transcripts of his arraignment. That means he could face prison time on multiple counts, including up to a life sentence.
Rye police did not assist in Garcia’s arrest, prosecutors told The Record.
