Mexican police find 100 lbs of fentanyl in multi-drug stash

Synthetic opioid fentanyl, which can be fatal in doses of even just a few milligrams.  (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MEXICO CITY — Mexican police found a multi-drug shipment that included an astonishing 100 pounds (45.5 kilograms) of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, in a vehicle near the city of Ensenada in Baja California, officials said on Thursday.

Fentanyl can be fatal in doses of just a few milligrams. To put the size of the haul in perspective, a seizure last year of 4.5 pounds (2 kilograms) of fentanyl in Columbus, Ohio, was said by prosecutors to be enough to kill the entire population of the city of 860,000 people.

Police also said that the drug shipment seized near Ensenada also included 914 pounds (415 kilograms) of crystal meth, 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of cocaine and 18.5 pounds (8.4 kilograms) of heroin.

Police arrested a man who was driving an SUV stuffed with the drugs near Ensenada. The drugs were so bulky they were stuffed into a pile of sacks that filled the rear of the van.

The man was initially stopped because he lacked a front license plate.

In November, Mexican authorities seized 31 pounds (14 kilograms) of fentanyl hidden in a car on a highway between the Gulf of California and San Luis Rio Colorado, which is home to a border crossing with southwest Arizona.

An accidental overdose of fentanyl was determined to have killed music legend Prince in April 2016. And a coroner’s finding showed that among the medications found in the system of the late rock star Tom Petty were fentanyl and oxycodone.                       /kga