2 men arrested with enough fentanyl to kill 4.7 million people, officials say
BUENA PARK, Calif. (Gray News) - Officials in Southern California report police have taken two men into custody with hundreds of pounds of drugs, which has resulted in the biggest bust in the last 16 years in Orange County.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, a lethal dose of fentanyl is as little as 2 milligrams, and authorities recovered nearly 21 pounds of fentanyl pills after Buena Park police pulled over a minivan leaving a house on March 17.
Police also said they found about 821 pounds of methamphetamine and 190 pounds of cocaine.
Edgar Alfonso Lamas, 36, and Carlos Raygozaparedes, 53, were the men arrested in the drug bust. The district attorney’s office reports the two face several felony charges, including possession of a controlled substance and the sale or transportation of a controlled substance.
Police said the alleged two drug dealers were also charged with felony enhancements that the controlled substances exceeded 80 and 20 kilograms by weight or 400 liters by liquid volume.
“Millions of unsuspecting people have the grim reaper looking over their shoulder. They have no idea how close they actually are to dying from taking a single pill,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Fentanyl is cheap, it’s easy to get, and it is killing our children, our co-workers, 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.”
Lamas and Raygozaparedes face a maximum sentence of 37 years and four months in jail if convicted on all charges. According to the district attorney’s office, the two have pled not guilty and remain in custody on a $5 million bail.
According to court records, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for the two men on June 7 in Fullerton, California.
“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,” Spitzer said.
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