Police in Florida have seized enough fentanyl to kill the entire population of Estonia.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday (19 September) that officers had successfully carried out a drug bust which saw the discovery of enough fentanyl to kill 1.5 million adults.
The police department also shared a photo of the seized drugs wrapped up in transparent packaging.
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Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office wrote on Twitter: “#JSO #Narcotics Unit seized 3 kilos of #fentanyl, 1.26 kilos of #cocaine & over 6,000 #counterfeit pills containing fentanyl; enough fentanyl to #kill 1.5 MILLION adults.”
People were quick to applaud the force’s work, with one person writing: “CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU!”
Another social media user echoed: “Thank you for your hard work,” while others simply wrote: “Thank you.”
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There were also concerns in the comment section about how such a large quantity of drugs had made it over the border, though, with one Twitter user noting: “Too bad this won’t stop until our border is secured.”
Another added: “I’m surprised, though, that this deadly situation made it across our border.”
Back in April, border control officers - along with the help of a trusty K9 officer - in Arizona sized three packages of fentanyl lethal enough to kill 2.7 million people.
At the time, John R Modlin, a US border patrol agent, tweeted: “Three packages of fentanyl weighing 12 pounds were seized by Nogales Station agents at the I-19 Checkpoint. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal!”
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A month before the bust in Arizona, two men arrested in Orange County were allegedly in possession of enough fentanyl to kill nearly five million people.
Police said Edgar Alfonso Lamas, 36, and Carlos Raygozaparedes, 53, had more than 20lb (9kg) of fentanyl, nearly 200lb (91kg) of cocaine and more than 800lb (363kg) of methamphetamine stowed in a minivan.
Warning of the dangers of fentanyl after announcing Lamas and Raygozaparedes’s arrest, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said: "Millions of unsuspecting people have the grim reaper looking over their shoulder and they have no idea how close they actually are to dying from taking a single pill.
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"Fentanyl is cheap, it’s easy to get and it is killing our children, our coworkers, and tens of thousands of innocent Americans who don’t have to die.
"Drug dealers don’t care about you or your loved ones – they only care about their bottom line and making as much money as possible.
"With fentanyl in an estimated 40 percent of street drugs, it’s not a matter of if but when someone you know and love dies from fentanyl. We have to continue to do everything we can to combat this deadly drug epidemic and save lives."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week
Aisha Nozari