Enough Fentanyl to Kill 190,000 People Seized in Ohio Joint Law Enforcement Operation

Fentanyl and contraband seized in Butler County, Ohio, by the Butler Undercover Regional Narcotics team (BURN). Butler County Sheriff's Department

Law enforcement officials in Ohio seized 570 grams of fentanyl, 660 grams of meth, and 139 grams of crack cocaine while conducting search warrants of two apartments in Butler county on Nov. 1.

Undercover officers with the Butler County Undercover Regional Narcotics (BURN) Task Force and the Hamilton Police Department executed the search at the apartments at the 1100 block of Washington Blvd in the City of Hamilton as part of a joint operation.

Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, and as little as two milligrams can be potentially lethal.

In a statement on social media, Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones said the amount of the highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl that officers seized was enough to kill 190,000 people. It has now been taken off the streets.

During the search, officers arrested two individuals: Edward Fox, 33, of Hamilton, and Pierre Wilson, 38, of Hamilton.

Fox has been charged with three counts each of trafficking drugs and possession of drugs, all with a major-drug offender specification and all of which are first-degree felonies.

Wilson is charged with having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony.

Fox and Wilson both appeared for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday at Hamilton Municipal Court, Fox News reports. Their arraignment will be held at 8 a.m. on Nov. 9.

“We will continue to get these lethal drugs off the streets and put the drug dealers behind bars,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a statement on Tuesday.

‘Deliberate Attempt By Cartels To Make Illicit Drug Use More Appealing’

Republican lawmakers and experts have repeatedly raised concerns over the increasing number of Mexican cartels that have been importing fentanyl from China and mixing it into counterfeit pills, such as Xanax and Adderall, which are then sold to unaware Americans.

The latest seizure of deadly drugs in Butler county comes just weeks after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its law enforcement partners announced they had seized more than 65 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 87,000 fentanyl-laced pills during the period of May 23 through Sept. 8 in Ohio.

That was equivalent to more than 4.7 million deadly dosages, officials said.

Nationwide, the DEA seized more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills and approximately 980 pounds of fentanyl powder during that same period.

“Fentanyl in pill form is a deliberate attempt by drug cartels to make illicit drug use more appealing to Americans,” said DEA Detroit Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene in a statement on Oct. 11.

“Fake pills are especially concerning because of the appeal they can have to an unsuspecting person. One may believe they are taking a legitimate pharmacy-grade pill but far too often, that isn’t the case.  Fake prescription pills bought on the street are made in clandestine labs, primarily in Mexico, from chemicals sourced from China, and contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.”

If someone accidentally takes fentanyl, the medication Naloxone can reverse the overdose effects if given immediately.