“There is a panoply of drugs out there that will destroy your kids,” says retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro.
Following recent college deaths and allegations around a campus cocaine trafficking ring, Mauro said America’s students are now the primary prey for a relentless and deadly drug trade.
“If you’re sending a kid off to college these days, you better sit that child down and give that child a hard primer on what could possibly happen,” he said.
A recently unsealed indictment shows Moises Freire, 19, and Brian Peralta, 18, both from Queens, New York, are facing charges after a young woman was killed and another seriously injured after they were allegedly poisoned by fentanyl.
Reports indicate Annabel Richter, 20, was killed after she ingested the drug supplied by the men, who allegedly told her it was simply “cocaine.”
She had moved from Brazil to live in the U.S. to pursue her studies at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, the New York Post reported. She was found unresponsive with another female victim in a dorm room.
According to the federal indictment, Freire allegedly raped the victim and “waited approximately 45 minutes to contact campus security” about the woman being unconscious.
Mauro questioned why there wasn’t more media attention on the case.
“It happened on a campus and the only thing I can conjure is that it happened in New York City, and so the powers that be as we come into an election season would rather these rape stories or these campus crime stories occur someplace far from New York where they could have any impact on the elections here,” he said.
The indictment also alleges Freire texted photos to his friends of one unconscious victim, who was “naked below the waist.”
Read the indictment here:
The second victim sustained “serious bodily injury” and regained consciousness after receiving life-saving care in the hospital.
Court records indicate both men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to federal charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance resulting in death. Freire is additionally charged with distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape.
In a statement, FIT President Jason Schupbach said in part, “We are thankful to our teams from Public Safety and Residential Life for their immediate response in March, and also to the Department of Justice and the NYPD for their actions in March and their continued focus on this case. As a community, we continue to support each other through difficult times.”
Campus drug deaths extend beyond New York City, including at the University of Mississippi, where federal prosecutors and local authorities launched intensive investigations following the deaths of two students.
Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead of suspected drug overdoses in September.
TWO OLE MISS STUDENTS FOUND DEAD AS PACKAGED KRATOM IS RECOVERED AT TWO SITES: OFFICIALS
WHAT IS KRATOM? RISKS OF POPULAR SUBSTANCE REVEALED AFTER COLLEGE STUDENTS’ DEATHS
