Feds seize nearly 100 pounds of fentanyl, deadly synthetic opiate, in unprecedented drug bust

Federal authorities said Monday that a narcotics probe has resulted in the seizure of nearly 100 pounds of fentanyl, or enough of the drug to kill more than a million people.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized about 97 pounds of the synthetic opiate during the course of investigating an alleged narcotics ring in San Diego, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

Details of the seizure were unveiled in tandem with the unsealing of a related indictment against three of the operation’s purported suspects: Jonathan Ibarra, 45; Anna Baker, 30; and Hector Fernando Garcia, 46.

Federal agents determined that Mr. Ibarra “received instructions” on Nov. 20, 2016 for using a female courier later identified as Ms. Baker to transport an unidentified narcotic, according to the documents.

DEA agents armed with the information requested a traffic stop of Ms. Baker’s rented vehicle afterwards and uncovered about 15 kilograms of what authorities ultimately determined to be fentanyl, an extremely potent and deadly painkiller, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday. Investigators then obtained a search warrant for the woman’s residence in nearby Lemon Grove and uncovered another 66 pounds or so of the dangerous drug, according to the newspaper.

“The combined amount — 44.14 kilograms — represents the largest fentanyl seizure sent to a DEA lab nationwide,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.

Fentanyl is extremely lethal and has been widely attributed with driving the nationwide epidemic of fatal opioid overdoses. As little as 3 milligrams of fentanyl is needed to kill a single person, and a pound of the drug is capable of killing upwards of 150,000.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control previously described fentanyl as up to 100 times more potent than morphine, and a report published last week in the International Journal of Drug Policy linked the drug to more than half of the recent overdose deaths in the state of Rhode Island.

“It’s really alarming,” said the study’s author, Brandon Marshall, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University. “We thought we would see hot spots [of fentanyl overdoses] in lower-income or marginalized communities, but found … the risk is really distributed throughout communities.”

All three defendants arrested in connection with the alleged San Diego ring have been charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, according to the indictment unsealed Monday. They face up to life imprisonment and $10 million fines if convicted, Courthouse News reported.