The Riverside County Gang Influence Workforce seized greater than $1.5 million price of fentanyl-laced medication over the previous two weeks, the Riverside County district lawyer’s workplace mentioned Monday.
The seizure discovered about 40,000 M30 tablets containing fentanyl, 5 kilograms of powdered fentanyl and three firearms, the district lawyer’s workplace mentioned.
The operation occurred over three separate investigations performed by the gang unit throughout Riverside County over a two-week interval.
Fentanyl is a man-made artificial opiate that’s recognized to be extremely addictive and cheaper than different opiates. It’s additionally 50 instances extra highly effective than heroin and 100 instances extra highly effective than morphine, in keeping with the information launch.
The district lawyer’s workplace famous that that is an ongoing investigation, which is a part of a better effort by Riverside County to cease the circulate of fentanyl within the county and assist save lives.
“A whole lot of individuals are dying yearly in Riverside County attributable to fentanyl poisoning. Victims, together with younger folks, are illegally acquiring tablets they consider are oxycodone or Percocet however as a substitute, include fentanyl,” the information launch mentioned. “It solely takes two milligrams of fentanyl to doubtlessly be a deadly dose and a teaspoon comprises 5,000 milligrams.”
This seizure comes throughout a time when California lawmakers are trying to crack down on the surge of fentanyl overdoses and deaths within the state.
In Might, three teenage women in Los Angeles overdosed after taking fentanyl-laced tablets, alarming faculty districts, which despatched warning letters to folks in regards to the risks of fentanyl. Related warnings have been echoed this month in San Diego County, the place deaths involving the artificial drug have shot up 2,300% within the area since 2016.
