Police seize enough fentanyl to ‘kill a quarter of the population of California’ | California

A routine traffic stop in California’s Central Valley turned into a major fentanyl bust as authorities seized enough lethal doses to kill a quarter of California’s population, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

In one statement released FridayCHP officers in Stockton, about 50 miles south of the capital, Sacramento, said officers last month while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Airport Boulevard uncovered “an alarming amount of fentanyl-laced pills,” according to a police officer. dog signaled the scent of narcotics.

Officers discovered two duffel bags and a shopping bag filled with counterfeit oxycodone or M30 pills. In total, more than 66 pounds of 330,000 pills were confiscated. The driver, who was registered in Washington, was arrested and booked into the Yolo County Jail.

“For perspective, the (Drug Enforcement Administration) reports that it only takes a few milligrams of fentanyl to be lethal. With enough pills in this seizure to create between 10-15m lethal doses, that’s an amount that could kill a quarter of the population of California,” CHP officers said.

A picture of the bust posted on Facebook showed the pills packed in clear plastic bags and stacked on a car.

The bust, which took place in late October, happened just weeks after the CHP officers seized $1.7 million worth of fentanyl across two enforcement stops in California’s Central Valley. Officers arrested three suspects from overseas, including one person who tried to hide the drugs in several packages of raw carne asada beef.

Since January, the California National Guard’s Drug Task Force has seized more than 5,000 lb of fentanyl powder and 9.6 million pills containing fentanyl, which makes the seizures worth more than 43 million USD.

According to a 2022 report from the Cato Institute think tank, US citizens accounted for 89% of convicted fentanyl traffickers in 2022. In 2023, 93% of fentanyl seizures in the US occurred at legal crossing points or in-vehicle checkpoints.

Fentanyl, which can be snorted, smoked, taken orally with birth control pills or tablets, or put on paper, produces a myriad of physical effects, including relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, according to DEA.

Signs of fentanyl overdose include changes in pupil size, clammy skin, cyanosis, or a bluish discoloration of the skin, lips, and nails caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood. It can also lead to coma and respiratory failure.