Traffic Stop Turns Up Two Kilograms of Fentanyl Powder In OC

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A routine traffic stop in south Orange County netted two kilograms of fentanyl powder and more than 11,000 counterfeit pharmaceutical pills suspected to also contain fentanyl -- a haul that may have been smuggled into the United States from Mexico, authorities said Saturday.

The traffic stop occurred Wednesday at approximately 12:10 p.m. when a deputy pulled over a 1990s Ford truck for a vehicle code violation, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.

The department did not reveal the city or street location where the traffic stop occurred.

"During a search of the truck, the deputy found a backpack inside the passenger compartment. Upon further inspection, the deputy found the large amount of fentanyl," according to the statement. "From the fentanyl powder alone, it is estimated approximately 1,000,000 lethal doses of the dangerous opioid were confiscated."

The driver was taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of transporting and possessing the substance in order to sell it.

"After a preliminary investigation, it is believed the narcotics were being smuggled into the United States from Mexico," according to the statement.

—City News Service