Owner's husband detained in Mexico after New York nursery fentanyl child death
The husband of the owner of a New York nursery where a child died of suspected fentanyl poisoning has been arrested in Mexico, US police have said.
Felix Herrera-Garcia was seen leaving the nursery not long after several children became ill, including one-year-old Nicholas Dominici who died a week later.
It is believed he was exposed to fentanyl that was hidden under the floor of the nap room at the nursery.
A search of the nursery revealed a kilogram of fentanyl on top of children’s play mats in a cupboard and a stash of drugs hidden inside the floor where children played.
Three other children were admitted to hospital, and a urine test from one of them confirmed the presence of the drug.
The nursery owner, Grei Mendez, 36, and her tenant Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, are facing charges relating to the possession of narcotics with the intent to dispute resulting in death.
On Monday, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, was also charged with narcotics distribution resulting in death.
Ms Mendez has denied the charges and claims she did not know the drugs were in the nursery.
Federal prosecutors said Paredes, who also went by "El Gallo," played an "instrumental role" in selling large quantities of fentanyl and other drugs that were packaged and stored inside the facility – including on mats used by children for sleeping and under a "trap floor".
US drug enforcement officers working with Mexican police detained Mr Herrera-Garcia on Tuesday in Sinaloa in western Mexico, CNN said.
In CCTV footage taken near the nursery, a man believed to be Mr Herrera-Garcia is seen entering the nursery before emergency services arrive.
The man is then seen quickly departing the nursery carrying several large bags.
Fentanyl is a synthetic drug which is 100 times more powerful than morphine and far more lethal than heroin.
It is extremely addictive and has led to the largest drug addiction crisis in the US in decades.
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