By SÍLE MOLONEY
A HANDWRITTEN SUMMARY of fentanyl ingredients is found in a Brooklyn building by law enforcement on Monday, April 13, 2026, after a raid and gun and drug seizure.
Photo courtesy of law enforcement
Federal Prosecutors announced on Tuesday, April 14, the arrests of Brooklynite. Kareem Antoine Turner, 47, and a Bronx man, Alexander Daravina, 45, on narcotics and firearms charges for running a fentanyl manufacturing facility in a Brooklyn residential apartment building.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, Farhana Islam, special agent in charge of the New York task enforcement division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Michael Alfonso, acting special agent in charge of the New York field office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said the two were arrested on Monday, April 13, and presented on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker, where they were ordered detained.
“As alleged, Kareem Turner and Alexander Daravina ran an industrial-scale pill mill in a Brooklyn apartment, pumping deadly fentanyl pills onto the streets of New York in mass quantities,” said Clayton. “Fentanyl is poison. It kills New Yorkers every day. If you are dealing in fentanyl, you are dealing in death. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will use all resources available to give New Yorkers what they want and what they deserve: the destruction of these deadly factories and their operators in federal prison.”
For his part, Islam said, “These individuals allegedly transformed an apartment into a fentanyl processing plant: mixing, pressing, and packaging fentanyl alongside other deadly narcotics with absolutely no regard for the health and safety of their neighbors.” He added, “This was not just alleged drug trafficking; it was a potential death sentence to others living in the building. The magnitude of this alleged operation, which resulted in the seizure of two pill press machines, one capable of producing thousands of deadly pills per hour, as well as two kilo press machines, underscores the scale and lethality of the threat we face every day. Restoring safety to our neighborhoods is critical, but above all, saving lives remains our top priority.”
Alfonso said for years, HSI had confronted what he described as the devastating impacts of fentanyl and other illicit narcotics, which he said fractured families, corroded neighborhoods, and turned ordinary apartments into covert pill mills that imperil entire communities. “These arrests are a stark reminder that these crimes are not just numbers on a page, but direct threats to the public’s safety and well-being,” Alfonso said.
DARAVINA LOOKS AT bags containing narcotics during a FaceTime call in an undated photo.
Photo courtesy of law enforcement and federal prosecutors
He added, “Through the disciplined collaboration of HSI New York, DEA New York, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and our Homeland Security Task Force partners, we are committed to safeguarding our city and dismantling the criminal enterprises that profit from poison in our neighborhoods.”
According to the allegations contained in the complaint, Tuner and Daravina converted a residential apartment in Brooklyn into a “Pill Mill” where they manufactured, stored, and sold kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl. The court heard that the Pill Mill contained an industrial-scale pill-press machine capable of manufacturing around 4,800 tablets per hour, a hand-cranked pill-press machine, two kilogram presses, and other industrial-grade equipment.
Prosecutors said electronic evidence gathered during the investigation revealed multiple pictures of the Pill Mill; messages in which Turner and Daravina discussed the assembly of the pill-press machine; documents, including a troubleshooting guide and handwritten notes relating to the manufacture of fentanyl; and FaceTime screenshots in which Daravina is seen examining drugs and guns. Some of these photographs are attached.
The court heard that on April 13, DEA and HSI agents searched the Pill Mill pursuant to a judicially authorized search warrant and found kilograms of fentanyl and other narcotics in powder and pill form, along with kilograms of ingredients used in the manufacture of fentanyl.
DRUGS AND DRUG paraphernalia is seen inside a Brooklyn Pill Mill after law enforcement agents executed the search warrant on Monday, April 13, 2026.
Photo courtesy of law enforcement / federal prosecutors
Prosecutors said the agents also recovered two loaded guns hidden in a speaker inside the Pill Mill, and one of the guns had an extended magazine. They said in ongoing testing, multiple kilograms of suspected narcotics found in the Pill Mill have tested positive for fentanyl.
Turner and Daravina are each charged with (i) conspiring to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, and (ii) using a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, that drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must be served consecutive to any other prison term imposed, and a maximum term of life in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Clayton praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the DEA and HSI, and also thanked the New York State Police for their assistance in this case.
DRUGS AND DRUG paraphernalia is seen inside a Brooklyn Pill Mill after law enforcement agents executed the search warrant on Monday, April 13, 2026.
Photo courtesy of law enforcement / federal prosecutors
The case is being handled by the narcotics unit of the Office of U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Getzel Berger and Joseph H. Rosenberg are leading the prosecution team.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.