US authorities seized $1 million worth of heroin and fentanyl labeled 'coronavirus'

• Federal authorities busted an alleged drug ring in New York City and found drugs in envelopes stamped with the word coronavirus, the DEA said.
• Other labels included a Kobe Bryant reference, "Hiroshima," and "isis," according to a press release.
• Six people were charged with crimes following the investigation and seizure, the DEA said.
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Six people are facing federal drug charges after federal agents found what they said was more than $1 million worth of heroin and fentanyl stamped with words like "coronavirus," "isis," and "24 Black Mamba."

Drug Enforcement Administration agents made the bust in the Bronx, New York, according to a press release published Friday. They seized "120,000 glassine envelopes of suspected heroin/fentanyl worth over a million dollars, as well as $25,000 cash and drug packaging materials" after a long-term investigation.

The drugs — also stamped with the labels "anthrax," and "Hiroshima" — found in the alleged trafficking operation are believed to be related to overdose deaths throughout New York and New Jersey, but those deaths have not been connected to directly to the seized operations, the DEA said.

According to the DEA, those stamps help signify drugs' origins, and are often linked to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, one of the largest drug trafficking operations in the world.

"There is no place in our city for illegal narcotics that undermine public safety and threaten lives. I thank our detectives, and our federal and local partners, for remaining determined in our mission to protect New Yorkers throughout this Coronavirus crisis," Dermot Shea, NYPD commissioner, said in the press release.