(11/1/2019) - A joint task force in Ohio seized 20 kilograms (40 pounds) of fentanyl, along with meth, heroin, firearms, and over $30,000 in cash.
"Twenty-kilograms of fentanyl is enough to kill the entire population of Ohio, many times over," said Vance Callendar, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge for Michigan and Ohio.
Three Dayton men are charged in the case.
"Whenever we take any dope off the street, whether it's 40 grams or 40 pounds, it's a win; because, that's 40 grams or 40 pounds that's not gonna end up in the hands of somebody else," Scott Nedoff, the Drug Enforcement Agency's Resident Agent in Charge said of the bust.
The DEA was not a part of the operation; but Agent Nedoff said getting that large amount of the deadly drug off the street will certainly save someone's life.
Fentanyl has become a big concern in recent years because it is so potent.
The DEA said it's being mixed in with other illegal drugs and many users are unaware.
"Fentanyl that we're seeing on the street - it can be in powder form, it can resemble heroin, it can resemble cut for lack of a better term, an adulterant," Agent Nedoff explained.
He said people in Michigan aren't making it, they're buying it.
Agent Nedoff suspected the fentanyl seized in Dayton, Ohio this week would've eventually made it to mid-Michigan, by way of I-75.
"Typically it might make a stop in Detroit and then make it's way here; but with that quantity of fentanyl, that's such a huge seizure, I'd be shocked if some of it didn't make it's way here," he said.
Agent Nedoff added the pharmaceutical drug is now being manufactured in labs outside of the U.S. and being smuggled here in a number of ways.
He explained, "To give you an idea of how dangerous it is, in a hospital setting, a typical dosage of fentanyl was anywhere from 50 to say 80 micrograms -- a microgram is a millionth of a gram. "
That's the size of one grain of salt.
Local task forces said fentanyl is causing the majority of the overdoses or overdose deaths here in Mid-Michigan.
Which is why Agent Nedoff said they work closely with state, local and federal partners to tackle the problem.
"We're targeting the highest level drug traffickers that we can, that we can identify and infiltrate and target for investigation, arrest, prosecution and incarceration," he explained.
Agent Nedoff is also encouraging everyone - if you see something, say something. And, he's reminding parents to keep an eye on your kids and your medicine cabinets.