Queens fentanyl trafficker sentenced to 18 years after DEA seizes 2 kilograms in car trunk
QUEENS, NY — A Long Island man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for possessing two kilograms of fentanyl during a drug trafficking attempt into Queens, following his conviction earlier this year in a major narcotics case.
Dennis Carrol, 34, of Evergreen Road in Flanders, was convicted on March 24 of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree and two counts of third-degree possession following a four-week jury trial. His sentencing was handed down Tuesday by Supreme Court Justice Leigh Cheng, who also imposed five years of post-release supervision.
The investigation began in November 2022, when the Queens District Attorney’s Major Narcotics Unit, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division, identified Carrol as part of an active drug trafficking operation. On November 28, 2022, around 3:30 p.m., DEA agents conducted a car stop at Hillside Avenue and 188th Street in Hollis. A search of the vehicle revealed two plastic bags containing roughly 2 kilograms of fentanyl in the trunk.
The seized fentanyl had an estimated street value of $80,000. According to the DEA, just one kilogram of fentanyl can potentially kill 500,000 people, and as little as 2 milligrams can be lethal.
Officials said Carrol was transporting the fentanyl from Suffolk County with plans to distribute the drugs in Queens. He was taken into custody at the scene and later indicted following further investigation and lab confirmation of the drug’s composition.
Assistant District Attorney Kieran Linehan, Section Chief in the Major Narcotics Unit, prosecuted the case under the supervision of multiple senior officials in the District Attorney’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau.
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Key Points
- Dennis Carrol, 34, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for possessing two kilograms of fentanyl
- DEA agents recovered the drugs during a traffic stop in Hollis in November 2022
- The fentanyl had an estimated street value of $80,000 and posed a significant public safety threat