$4 million worth of fentanyl, cocaine trafficked in NC seized by police

Authorities seized a $4 million load of fentanyl and cocaine suspected of being trafficked through Mecklenburg and Gaston counties, police said Friday.

A K-9 found 53 pounds of fentanyl — the most common drug distributed in Charlotte — and 26 pounds of cocaine last week in a vehicle involved in trafficking, according to a Gaston County Police Department news release..

One pill, or about 2 mg of fentanyl, is enough to kill a person, according to the DEA. Fifty-three pounds of fentanyl could make more than 24 million pills.

Last year, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations seized three times the amount of fentanyl capable of killing every resident in both North and South Carolina.

It’s unclear what led authorities to the car, whether anyone was with the car or where the car was located. Gaston County Police said Friday the investigation is ongoing and no one has been charged yet.

Last week, police arrested a Gastonia man on 13 charges related to trafficking fentanyl. They found 3,000 additional fentanyl pills in his possession.

Most Charlotte fentanyl trafficking cases are linked to the Cartel Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — a Mexican-based transnational drug trafficking organization with a well-established network in the Carolinas, according to Michael Prado, Charlotte’s Homeland Security Investigations’ deputy special agent in charge.

A new Republican-sponsored Senate bill making its way through North Carolina’s General Assembly would increase fines and penalties for fentanyl distribution.