The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Division recently concluded a couple of investigations related to the distribution of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine in Randolph County. They seized a total of 1532.70 grams (3.379 Lbs.) of Fentanyl in a three-week period. They also seized 367 grams of Methamphetamine and 38.2 grams of MDMA.
Press Coverage:
https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/enough-fentanyl-to-kill-390000-people-seized-in-randolph-chatham-county-drug-bust/
https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/piedmont-triad/nearly-2-pounds-of-fentanyl-seized-in-multi-department-bust-randolph-county-sheriffs-office-says/
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration states that a kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people with the agency estimating a lethal dose at two milligrams. Fentanyl is a Schedule II controlled substance that is similar to morphine but about 100 times more potent.
The Special Operations Division has collaborated with other agencies across the state and county, recently including Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, Winston Salem Police Department, Kernersville Police Department, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, High Point Police Department, Archdale Police Department and the DEA to take these drugs off the streets and to interrupt the supply chain. They continue to be proactive in their efforts to prevent drug trafficking in and around Randolph County.
The problem isn’t likely to be solved as long as the United States border is open. The DEA reports that illicit fentanyl, primarily manufactured in foreign clandestine labs and smuggled into the United States through Mexico, is being distributed across the country and sold on the illegal drug market. Fentanyl is being mixed in with other illicit drugs to increase the potency of the drug, sold as powders and nasal sprays, and increasingly pressed into pills made to look like legitimate prescription opioids. Because there is no official oversight or quality control, these counterfeit pills often contain lethal doses of fentanyl, with none of the promised drug.
There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl. Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine, increasing the likelihood of a fatal interaction.
Links to Sheriff’s Office Felony Arrests in these incidents:
https://www.randolphcountync.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=39
https://www.randolphcountync.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=79