Authorities in Oregon seized tens of thousands of fentanyl pills in Multnomah County last week, marking the largest illegal drug bust in county history, according to officials.
In a statement on July 28, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said a months-long investigation resulted in the arrest of a wanted person in the state’s most populous county, which is part of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.
The unit observed the unidentified individual approach a vehicle on July 25 near Southwest Avenue and Main Street when they took him into custody, the agency said, noting that the identity of the suspect will not be immediately released owing to investigative reasons.
After obtaining a search warrant for the suspect’s car and apartment, SIU deputies found gallon-sized plastic bags packed with fentanyl pills and powder, as well as a stolen handgun, $5,000 in cash, and a commercial-grade pill press.
“While processing evidence, deputies determined the bags contained approximately 58,000 individual fentanyl pills and 16 pounds of fentanyl powder. Ten of the 16 pounds of powder was ready to be pressed using the machines into pills. A search of the firearm’s serial number revealed the handgun was reported stolen,” the sheriff’s office said.
“It’s estimated that the 10 pounds of fentanyl powder would yield approximately 50,000 pills,” the agency added. “Deputies believe the remaining six pounds of fentanyl powder was going to remain in powder form and be sold as that. For context, if the additional six pounds of fentanyl powder was to be converted to pill form, it would yield an additional 30,000 pills.”
In total, the SIU prevented roughly 138,000 pills from hitting Portland-area streets, officials estimated. The combined street value of the fentanyl bust was estimated to be between $320,000 and $400,000.
“We believed we knew what he was doing,” Mr. Plock said, adding officials were doing surveillance just waiting to take him into custody.
The agency’s second-largest fentanyl seizure occurred in 2022 when deputies found 92,000 fentanyl pills and other drugs during a traffic stop in Clackamas County.
“It’s definitely a step, it’s definitely a part of the process,” Mr. Plock told the news outlet. “We’re pretty proud of that. We’re pretty happy with that result. Again, we realize the fight goes on.”
The large drug bust comes as the number of fentanyl overdose deaths in the area increased eightfold over the last three years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Multnomah County in 2019. That number rose to 209 in 2022.
“Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office wants to remind the public that one pill can kill,” the sheriff’s office said. “The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that it only takes 2 milligrams of fentanyl—about the weight of a few grains of salt—to cause a fatal overdose. Today, six out of ten DEA-tested pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.”
