Two men arrested in the largest fentanyl bust in New Jersey history were sentenced to prison Friday, after authorities said they had enough lethal doses to kill the entire population of New Jersey and New York City combined.
Jesus Carrillo-Pineda, a 31-year-old Philadelphia resident, received a 10-year sentence while Daniel Vasquez, a 28-year-old Somerton, Ariz., resident, received a six-year term, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office announced.
The two men were among four charged after nearly 100 pounds of the synthetic opioid was seized by New Jersey State Police last June, which could have yielded more than 18 million lethal doses.
“Many lives were undoubtedly saved as a result of this record-setting fentanyl seizure by the New Jersey State Police,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. “The 100 pounds of fentanyl trafficked into our state by these drug dealers could have generated enough lethal doses to kill the entire populations of New Jersey and New York City combined.”
NEWT GINGRICH: OPIOID DEATHS ARE A HEALTH CRISIS -- TREATMENT, NOT JAIL, IS THE CURE
The charges against one of the other suspects were dropped this week, according to the attorney general's office, while another man identified as 38-year-old Omar Zeus Rodriguez remains a fugitive.
Fentanyl is one of the deadliest opioids, with a potency that is 50 times greater than heroin. A dose as small at 2 to 3 milligrams can be fatal, according to police.
The previous state record for a fentanyl bust was 14 kilograms of fentanyl seized in Camden in March.
IndianSurveyDrone on January 29th, 2018 at 01:23 UTC »
You know what else is crazy? There is a synthetic opioid, carfentanil, which is 100 times as potent as fentanyl. The same weight of carfentanil as in this drug bust would have enough lethal doses to kill a quarter of the world's population. Put another way, a one-pound amount of the stuff would have the same effect as the 100-pound fentanyl bust.
Another note--until LAST YEAR, carfentanil was legally available to buy and have shipped from China. And, yes, it was used in the drug trade.
ManMan36 on January 28th, 2018 at 23:38 UTC »
18 MILLION lethal doses. Let’s further put that into perspective. That is enough to kill 3/4 of the entire population of Australia.
blutoboy on January 28th, 2018 at 21:59 UTC »
It was only 100 lbs (45 kilos), that's insane.