“There is a panoply of drugs out there that will destroy your kids,” said retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor Paul Mauro.
After a series of recent college deaths and allegations involving a cocaine-trafficking operation near a campus, Mauro warned that students have become prime targets for an increasingly dangerous 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 charges Moises Freire, 19, and Brian Peralta, 18, both of Queens, New York, in connection with an incident in which one young woman died and another was seriously injured after allegedly being exposed to fentanyl.
Prosecutors say a student died in an FIT dorm room after a suspect allegedly gave her fentanyl. (Getty Images: Universal Images Group)
According to reports, Annabel Richter, 20, died after taking the drug allegedly supplied by the men, who purportedly told her it was cocaine.
Richter had moved from Brazil to the United States to study at Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, the New York Post reported. She was found unresponsive in a dorm room alongside another female student.
The federal indictment alleges that Freire raped the victim and “waited approximately 45 minutes to contact campus security” after finding her unconscious.
Fentanyl-containing pills are displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on May 7, 2026. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Mauro questioned why the case had not received more media coverage.
“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 further alleges that Freire sent friends photographs of one unconscious victim, who was “naked below the waist.”
The second student suffered “serious bodily injury” and regained consciousness after receiving emergency treatment at a hospital.
Court records show that both men pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges of conspiring to distribute 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, 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.”
The danger extends beyond New York City. At the University of Mississippi, federal prosecutors and local authorities began intensive investigations after two students died in suspected drug overdoses.
Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were found dead in September.
Ole Miss students Robert Strang, 20, and Aidan Hamilton, 18, were found dead on Sept. 21. (Strang family; Kathleen Hamilton/Facebook; Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Investigators found packages containing kratom-related products, sometimes marketed as “gas station heroin,” at both locations where the students were discovered.
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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, banned compounds in retail packaging.
These images, posted by his mother on Facebook, show Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old University of Mississippi freshman. (Facebook/ Kathie Mac Donald Hamilton)
The deaths shocked the Ole Miss community and heightened law enforcement warnings about unregulated substances spreading through 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 Outlet contacted Ole Miss for comment.
The national campus drug crisis also includes Pennsylvania, where Attorney General Dave Sunday announced sweeping charges against 14 men, including current and former students, after an investigation into an alleged organized cocaine-trafficking ring.
Investigators said the operation was run from off-campus fraternity houses, including properties associated with Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon.
Agostino Abbatiello, 24, faces multiple felony charges after investigators identified him as an alleged leader of a cocaine-distribution ring at Penn State. (Kelsie Cairns, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday)
Authorities identified former student Agostino Abbatiello, 24, as the alleged leader of the operation. Investigators said he also used the nickname “Pablo Pledgescabar.”
A criminal complaint alleges that fraternity pledges were compelled to cut, package and bag substantial amounts of cocaine for the operation.
Lars Zeepvat, Paul Robinson, Mohammad Hurabi, Thomas Robinson and Robert Zanolla were allegedly connected to the Penn State drug operation. (Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday)
The cocaine was then allegedly distributed among Penn State students throughout the University Park campus.
Investigators said the supply originated with larger networks in places including Philadelphia and New York City.
Mauro said those networks depend on drug supplies originating overseas.
“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 university added.
