Twenty-two people have been indicted on charges related to distributing heroin and fentanyl in the Bronx.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark says three of the defendants are charged with operating as a major trafficker, which carries a maximum of life in prison, if convicted.

The 20-month investigation yielded more than 50 pounds of fentanyl destined for the Bronx and elsewhere in the Northeast.

“This organization allegedly spanned street dealers in the South Bronx to significant suppliers in Mexico linked to the Sinaloa cartel,” Clark said in prepared remarks. “These indictments charge traffickers whose poison kills an average of 20 Bronxites a month.”

According to the investigation, the defendants were part of two different groups that trafficked several kilograms of fentanyl and heroin monthly and sold it in bulk to distributors in the Bronx.

DEA Special Agent Ray Donovan says “Operation Getting Paid” isn’t over yet.

“There are loose ends. There are individuals we are still looking for," he says.

District Attorney Clark says 17 of the 22 defendants were arrested – most of them during a takedown on May 28 that yielded drugs and weapons.