A routine traffic stop in California’s Central valley turned into a major fentanyl bust when authorities seized enough lethal doses to kill a quarter of California’s population, according to California highway patrol (CHP).
In a statement released on Friday, CHP officers in Stockton, about 50 miles south of the capital city of Sacramento, said that last month, while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 5 highway near Airport Boulevard, officers uncovered “an alarming amount of fentanyl-laced pills” after a police 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 66lb of 330,000 pills were confiscated. The driver, who was registered to Washington, was arrested and booked into Yolo county jail.
“For perspective, the [Drug Enforcement Administration] reports it only takes a few milligrams of fentanyl to be deadly. With enough pills in this seizure to create between 10-15m lethal doses, it’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 packaged in transparent plastic bags and stacked on a car.
The bust, which occurred in late October, took place just weeks after CHP officers seized $1.7m worth of fentanyl across two enforcement stops in California’s Central valley. Officers arrested three suspects from out of state, including one person who tried to conceal the drugs inside multiple packages of raw carne asada beef.
Since January, the California national guard’s counterdrug taskforce has seized more than 5,000lb of fentanyl powder and 9.6m pills containing fentanyl, making the seizures worth more than $43m.
According to a 2022 report by the Cato Institute thinktank, US citizens made up 89% of convicted fentanyl traffickers in 2022. In 2023, 93% of fentanyl seizures in the US occurred at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints.
Fentanyl, which can be snorted, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, or spiked on to blotter paper, produces a myriad of physical effects including relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, according to the DEA.
Signs of fentanyl overdose include changes in pupil size, clammy skin, cyanosis or a bluish discoloration in the skin, lips and nail beds caused due to oxygen shortages in the blood. It can also lead to coma and respiratory failure.
