4 Kilos Of Fentanyl Seized Near Temecula

TEMECULA, CA — Two San Diego brothers were arrested Wednesday evening in unincorporated area near Temecula on suspicion of transporting 4 kilos of powdered fentanyl with intent to sell, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

The amount seized of the illicit synthetic opioid was enough to poison about 2 million people, based on previous statements from law enforcement that have warned it takes around 2 milligrams of fentanyl to kill a human.

Jail records for the arrestees — Julio Ibarria, 40, and Carlos Ibarria, 39 — were not available at the time of publication.

The Riverside County Gang Impact Team, which is supervised by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation, made the bust.

Further details were not immediately released.

The arrests come just a day after 2 kilos of fentanyl were seized in Murrieta on Murrieta Hot Springs Road. Two people were arrested in that case.

Total fentanyl seizures made by the Riverside County Gang Impact Team have reached 10 kilos since Feb. 4, according to the DA's office. The 4 other kilos seized over the previous five weeks were: Feb. 4, 2 kilos seized in Riverside; Feb. 5, 1 kilo seized south of Temecula; March 1, 1 kilo seized in Murrieta.

“The amount of this deadly drug coming into our county is terrifying,” said DA Chief of Investigators Joe DelGiudice. “Each seizure means more lives saved. It’s that simple.”

The county, like other parts of the state and country, has been inundated with synthetic fentanyl, which authorities say is manufactured in China and smuggled across the border with Mexico. The drug is estimated to be 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.

Between 2018 and 2020, the number of fatal fentanyl poisonings increased 300 percent countywide, according to Sheriff Chad Bianco.

In 2020, there were 227 fentanyl-related deaths in Riverside County, up from 55 in 2018.

The DA’s Office, the Gang Impact Team, 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, the DA's office reported.

As part of the effort, the DA’s Office has filed second-degree murder charges against several people accused of providing or selling fentanyl-laced drugs to people who died as a result of taking the poison. Four men — Samuel Leo Mussaw of San Jacinto, Raymond Gene Tyrrell of French Valley, Jeremiah David Carlton of Canyon Lake, and Joseph Michael Costanza of Eastvale — have been charged with second-degree murder in their respective cases and made court appearances.

Law enforcement officials have pointed out that many people are unaware that the black-market drugs they purchase or receive contain fentanyl. Counterfeit pills marketed as oxycodone and other prescription medications are being peddled across the region. The fake medications are often made with filler and fentanyl, which is extremely cheap to manufacture relative to other illegal narcotics, according to law enforcement.

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