1 Million Doses Of Deadly Fentanyl Seized In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE, CA — Enough illicit fentanyl to potentially kill 1 million people was seized in downtown Riverside Thursday night, but investigators are releasing few details.

The seizure was part of an ongoing investigation by the Riverside County Gang Impact Team, which is overseen by the District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation. The DA's office made the announcement about the bust on Friday, but no arrests were publicly disclosed.

"Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous and potent manmade opioid that is very lethal and is on our streets," Friday's announcement said. "It is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It only takes about 2 milligrams of fentanyl to potentially be lethal for most people. For perspective of how small that amount is, it takes 5,000 milligrams to make one teaspoon."

The 2 kilograms — or 1 million doses — of powdered fentanyl seized Thursday had an estimated street value of $200,000, according to John Hall, spokesperson for the DA's office.

Often, fentanyl suppliers will emboss their product with some sort of identifiable logo. In this case, the supplier used logos including one associated with the New York Yankees, Hall said.

Illicit fentanyl is a cheap narcotic to manufacture and it's been linked to thousands of deaths across the country. The Riverside County DA's Office and all local law enforcement agencies have made investigations, seizures, arrests, and prosecutions of fentanyl cases a major priority due to the significant risk to public safety, Hall said.

“Taking this amount of fentanyl off of the street has undoubtedly saved lives,” said DA Chief of
Investigators Joe DelGiudice. “It is a drug like nothing I have seen in my 28 years in law
enforcement. It is deadly.”