DEA Busts WA Smuggler With Enough Carfentanil to Kill 50K People

The interception and arrest happened on September 16th. But this week the DEA and Federal authorities have released the results of drug testing on what were suspected to be Fentanyl pills seized in Centralia, WA.

  The pills were actually far more deadly

The DEA, along with ATF and Centralia Police, got a tip about a shipment of drug pills being moved through central WA, and on September 16th, they intercepted the courier at a gas station in Centralia.

The pills, which were blue, like many typical Fentanyl drugs, were sent to a lab in CA for further testing, following field test indications that they might be deadlier.

They were.  Authorities on Wednesday, September 24th, said the pills were actually filled with Carfentanyl and acetaminophen, and were stamped to look like oxycodone pills.  Those pills often have an M stamped on one side and a 30 on the other.

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But these were not oxys, as they are known on the street. Officials say Carfentanil is a synthetic expansion of Fentanyl, Carfentanil is used as a tranquilizer for very large animals, such as elephants. Its effects on humans are 100 times deadlier than Fentnayl.

Authorities seized over 50K pills in several bags, which they said was enough to potentially kill as many as 50,000 people.  Even a tiny speck of Carfentanil can kill a person.

The driver, who was from Pacific, WA was arrested and is being held on multiple charges. Their name was not released. According to the DEA and Federal Authorities:

“Carfentanil is like fentanyl on steroids,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “The cartels traffic this incredibly dangerous substance in order to profit from our misery.”

The investigation continues.