Officials uncovered \u2018alarming amount of fentanyl-laced pills\u2019 during routine traffic stop in state\u2019s central valley<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A routine traffic stop in California\u2019s central valley turned into a major fentanyl bust when authorities seized enough lethal doses to kill a quarter of California\u2019s population, according to California<\/a> highway patrol (CHP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement released on Friday<\/a>, CHP officers in Stockton, about 50 miles south of the capitol city of Sacramento, said that last month, while conducting a traffic stop on Interstate 5 highway near Airport Boulevard, officers uncovered \u201can alarming amount of fentanyl-laced pills\u201d after a K9 signaled the scent of narcotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officers discovered two duffel bags and a shopping bag filled with counterfeit oxycodone, or M30, pills. In total, more than 66lbs of 330,000 pills were confiscated. The driver, who was registered to Washington, was arrested and booked into Yolo county jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor 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\u2019s an amount that could kill a quarter of the population of California,\u201d CHP officers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A picture of the bust posted on Facebook<\/a> showed the pills packaged in transparent plastic bags and stacked on a car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bust, which occurred in late October, took place just weeks after CHP officers seized $1.7m worth of fentanyl<\/a> across two enforcement stops in California\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since January, the California national guard\u2019s counterdrug task force has seized<\/a> more than 5,000lbs of fentanyl powder and 9.6m pills containing fentanyl, making the seizures worth more than $43m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to<\/a> a 2022 report by the thinktank Cato Institute, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fentanyl, which can be snorted, smoked, taken orally by pill or tablet, or spiked onto blotter paper, produces a myriad of physical effects including relaxation, euphoria, pain relief, sedation, confusion, drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, according to<\/a> the DEA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n