Robert De Niro’s daughter Drena claims that her son Leandro died last week after taking pills that were laced with fentanyl.
“Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him,” Drena, 51, alleged on Instagram Wednesday in response to a commenter asking how Leandro passed away.
“For all these people still f–king around selling and buying this s–t, my son is gone forever,” she added.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use of pain relief and anesthetic,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.
“Just two milligrams of fentanyl, the small amount that fits on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially deadly dose,” the DEA states.
Drena announced that her only child had died at the age of 19 on Sunday.
“My beautiful sweet angel. I have loved you beyond words or description from the moment I felt you in my belly,” the filmmaker wrote in a heartbreaking Instagram post at the time.
“You have been my joy my heart and all that was ever pure and real in my life,” she continued. “I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. I don’t know how to live without you.”
While she didn’t immediately share details of how her son died, a police source told the Daily Mail that a “white powdery substance” was found “on a plate” near the body.
The “Taxi Driver” actor, 79, shared how “deeply distressed” he is by the passing of his “beloved grandson,” in a statement to Pvnew on Monday.
“We’re greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone. We ask that we please be given privacy to grieve our loss of Leo,” he said in the statement.
Leandro’s father, sculptor Carlos “Mare” Rodriguez, also mourned the loss of his son by commenting on Drena’s Instagram post announcing their son’s death.
“My dear Drena… words aren’t enough to express the joy he gave us or the loss we now endure with our families and friends,” the graffiti artist wrote on Monday.
“He is Godschild [sic] now.