On May 30, 2023, detectives with the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) seized a kilo (2.2 pounds) of suspected Carfentanil being trafficked into Douglas County. 41 year old Alma Adriana Fuentes of Live Oak, California, was contacted during the course of a traffic stop on Interstate-5 near Sutherlin. During the traffic stop, an Oregon State Police canine was applied to Fuentes’ vehicle and positively alerted to the presence of controlled substances. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of suspected carfentanil. Suspect interviews indicated the carfentanil was destined for Douglas County, but intercepted before it could reach its final destination. Fuentes was arrested by DINT detectives. Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid which is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. DINT has seen a substantial increase in fentanyl (and fentanyl analogues such as carfentanil) entering our community which has resulted in numerous overdoses and deaths. This seizure is the second large seizure of suspected carfentanil in Douglas County and is a concerning trend due to the potency of the drug. Information provided by the DEA and CDC provides that “carfentanil is used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large mammals. The lethal dose range for carfentanil in humans is unknown; however, carfentanil is approximately 100 times more potent than fentanyl, which can be lethal at the 2- milligram range, depending on route of administration and other factors.” To demonstrate the potency and dangers of this drug, we can use fentanyl as an example: One kilogram of fentanyl = 1,000 grams or 1,000,000 milligrams. Based on the information provided by the DEA and CDC in regard to a lethal dose of fentanyl (2 milligrams), this amount could be in excess of 500,000 lethal doses (1,000,000 milligrams divided by 2 milligrams). To reiterate, in this case DINT seized a kilogram carfentanil, which is considered 100 times more powerful than the example given. These statistics are clearly shocking and nearly unimaginable, but please consider this is “lethal dosage amounts” not amounts which users may ingest during average use. Most users will obviously use less than a lethal dose each time they use. However, when dealing with such small amounts of such a powerful drug, it easy to see how mistakes can be made. This is also why it is important for people to abstain from drug use altogether, and to teach our youth the dangers of ingesting any unknown substances. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have now become the #1 hard drug seized by DINT. This is the first time since DINT was formed in 1989 that methamphetamine has been surpassed in total seizures, by any other hard drug. DINT is an interagency narcotics team comprised of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Roseburg Police Department, Oregon State Police, Bureau of Land Management, and Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. DINT has received funding support from the Douglas County Commissioners, the HIDTA initiative, and the Criminal Justice Commission.
