Bronx Daycare Fentanyl Kingpin Sentenced to 45 Years After Child's Tragic Death

A Bronx daycare operator has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for her role in a fentanyl trafficking operation that resulted in the death of a young child and the poisoning of three others.

Grei Mendez, 37, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to charges related to drug distribution at Divino Niño Daycare, where authorities discovered over 11 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin hidden beneath floor tiles in the children’s playroom. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff imposed the sentence.

According to court records, Mendez and her co-conspirators used the daycare, located in a basement apartment, as a front for drug storage and distribution from at least June 2022 to September 2023. On September 15, 2023, four children under the age of three were exposed to fentanyl at the facility. Three were hospitalized, while a 22-month-old boy died from fentanyl poisoning.

In addition to her prison sentence, Mendez will serve five years of supervised release.

The investigation involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and the U.S. Marshals Service, among others. The case was prosecuted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative, which targets major drug trafficking operations.