A routine traffic stop on Interstate 5 resulted in the seizure of enough fentanyl-laced pills — 66 pounds worth — to kill up to 15 million people, the California Highway Patrol’s Stockton office reported.
The stop, for a traffic violation near the Airport Boulevard exit, led to the discovery of 330,000 pills in two duffel bags and a shopping bag. The finding was made with the help of a Sacramento County sheriff’s drug-sniffing dog named Ronan, the CHP said.
The car’s driver, who was not identified but authorities said was from Washington state, was booked into the Yolo County jail.
“It only takes a few milligrams of fentanyl to be deadly,” the CHP said in a release announcing the massive bust. “With enough pills in this seizure to create between 10-15 million lethal doses, it’s an amount that could kill a quarter of the population of California.”
The seizure and arrest was part of a team effort involving the California Highway Patrol, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Placer County district attorney’s office to crack down on illegal narcotics on the state’s highways.
The bust was the latest in a string of high-profile drug seizures, all involving drivers from Washington state.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office lauded the CHP for two other traffic stops along I-5 that turned into big fentanyl cases.
Some 11 pounds of fentanyl valued at $500,000 was discovered in a cooler filled with carne asada meat Oct. 3 along I-5 in Fresno County. The driver was booked on felony charges of fentanyl for sale and transportation of it across non-contiguous county lines.
A day later, about 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills and two handguns were found during another CHP traffic stop along I-5 in Los Banos in Merced County. Those drugs had an estimated street value of $1.2 million. Two suspects were arrested on multiple felony counts, the governor’s office said.
“Throughout the state, California continues the tough work to get deadly and illegal drugs off the streets. I am proud of the efforts by our CHP officers are to help keep our community safe,” Newsom said in a statement.