Retired Police Officer Warns College Drug Deaths and Alleged Cocaine Ring Put Students at Risk

“A wide range of drugs can destroy your children,” warned retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro.

Amid a series of college deaths and allegations involving a cocaine distribution network, Mauro said students have become a prime target for an aggressive and potentially lethal drug trade.

“If you’re sending a child off to college today, you need to have a serious conversation about the dangers and what could happen,” he said.

A newly unsealed indictment charges Moises Freire, 19, and Brian Peralta, 18, both of Queens, New York, in connection with an incident that left one young woman dead and another seriously injured after they were allegedly exposed to fentanyl.

According to reports, 20-year-old Annabel Richter died after taking the substance allegedly provided by the men, who purportedly represented it as “cocaine.”

Richter had relocated from Brazil to study in the United States at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, the New York Post reported. She was found unconscious in a dorm room alongside another female student.

The federal indictment alleges that Freire raped the other victim and “waited approximately 45 minutes to contact campus security” after finding the woman unconscious.

Mauro also questioned the limited media coverage surrounding the case.

“It happened on a campus, and the only explanation I can come up with is that it happened in New York City,” he said, adding that political leaders entering an election season might prefer rape and campus crime stories to occur elsewhere so they would not affect local races.

The indictment further alleges that Freire sent friends photographs of one unconscious victim, who was “naked below the waist.”

The second woman suffered “serious bodily injury” but survived after receiving emergency treatment at a hospital.

Court documents show that both defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal conspiracy charges alleging the distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. Freire also faces a charge of distributing a controlled substance with the intent to commit rape.

FIT President Jason Schupbach said in a statement, “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.”

The dangers of drug-related deaths on college campuses are not limited to New York. At the University of Mississippi, federal prosecutors and local authorities began extensive investigations after two students died.

Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead in September in cases authorities suspected were drug overdoses.

At both locations, investigators found packages containing kratom-related products, sometimes marketed as “gas station heroin.”

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The findings led to federal charges against a vape shop employee and his son, who were accused of illegally selling dangerous and prohibited compounds in consumer-style packaging.

The deaths sent shock waves through the campus community, intensifying urgent warnings from law enforcement about unregulated substances flooding college towns.

“It really is a minefield out there these days, and it’s not an accident. Our enemies know what they’re doing, and your kids are the target,” Mauro said.

News Media reached out to Ole Miss for comment.

Adding to the mounting national crisis on campuses, Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Dave Sunday, announced sweeping charges against 14 men — including current and former students — following an investigation into an alleged cocaine trafficking organized crime ring.

Investigators revealed that the network operated out of off-campus fraternity houses, including Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon.

At the center of the enterprise, authorities identified former student Agostino Abbatiello, 24, as the primary ringleader and kingpin, aka “Pablo Pledgescabar.”

According to a criminal complaint, fraternity pledges were forced to cut, package and bag large quantities of cocaine for the operation.

The drugs were then distributed widely among Penn State students across the University Park campus.

The drugs were coming from larger networks like Philadelphia and New York City.

Mauro said the networks rely on supply from foreign countries.

“You got the Chinese making this stuff. It goes to the cartels in Mexico and South America. It gets brought up here into the country, and it’s [distributed onto campuses now],” he said.

“They keep coming. Why? Chinese make this stuff in labs. They just change the formula all the time, and one of the reasons for that is they want to stay ahead of the charging here in America, the charges that get captured by the drug laws,” he said.

Penn State said in a statement, in part: “While the problem of illicit narcotics is a global issue, the recent allegations of drug trafficking taking place so close to the University Park campus is very concerning.”

“In prevention efforts, Vice President for Student Affairs Andrea Dowhower shared a message with the Penn State community last month, and additional messaging has been sent directly to students and parents related to health and safety, including on alcohol, drugs and hazing,” the school added.