Troopers with the Arizona Department of Public Safety on Thursday seized over $1.7 million in illegal drugs while performing a traffic stop Thursday.
The stop, performed on Interstate 10 near Marana outside of Tuscon, produced 34 pounds of fentanyl pills hidden in the vehicle. Additionally, law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search a separate vehicle.
In the second vehicle, authorities discovered over 37 additional pounds of fentanyl pills, 8 pounds of methamphetamine, 7 pounds of heroin, and 4.95 pounds of an unknown substance.
Both occupants of the vehicles, Mario Quinonez Osuna and Kevin Valdez, were arrested and charged with transportation of narcotic drugs for sale.
ARIZONA STATE TROOPERS SEIZE OVER $1.7M IN ILLEGAL DRUGS NEAR MARANA
Read more ➡️: https://t.co/4CZCnQgggo#BluePillsKill #AZTroopers #CourteousVigilance pic.twitter.com/IQxfYK9CGV— Dept. of Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) November 6, 2021
“We have a new drug, and this one – in my opinion – is to an extent more insidious, because it’s more subtle. A pill doesn’t have the stigma that, say, a needle or a glass pipe has. It doesn’t take a lot for somebody to put a pill in their mouth,” AZDPS Director Heston Silbert said when discussing fentanyl pills.
Fentanyl is a deadly product. A dose of just two milligrams, can be lethal according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). One kilogram could kill up to 500,000 people.
“Please talk to your loved ones about the dangers of ingesting these blue pills. Just one pill could prove deadly,” AZDPS pleaded in the statement.
Furthermore, the occurrence of the deadly drug is becoming more frequent. There have been more seizures of fentanyl in 2021 than any previous year in recent time.
In fact, the DEA issued a public safety warning over the risk of an increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, which officials say “are killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate.”
In Arizona alone, officials have captured 2,000 pounds of fentanyl and over 13,000 pounds of methamphetamine.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Colonel Heston Silbert” by Arizona Department of Public Safety and photo “illegal drugs” by Arizona Department of Public Safety.
