Police in Oregon seized a large fentanyl stash, capable of killing millions, on a single person.
Police in Eugene, Oregon, say they made the largest fentanyl bust in their department’s history when they searched the car of a man who was slumped over his vehicle’s steering wheel at a traffic light, seizing enough of the dangerous drug to kill four million people, according to a report from KEZI.
The suspect, 42-year-old Andre Johnson, was in possession of 18 pounds of suspected fentanyl, 12 guns, and $47,000 in cash, police say. Johnson was arrested on outstanding warrants and also faces charges of DUI felony, driving while suspended felony, felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of unlawful delivery of a Schedule 2 controlled substance.
Witnesses described the bizarre moments before Johnson was caught by police, saying the suspect was stopped at an intersection through multiple green lights.
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Eugene, Oregon, police cruiser.
(Eugene Police Department)
“I was on the street, and this guy stopped at a green light and sat there for about three light cycles. The cars around him were honking,” a woman told KEZI.
The witness went over to check on the status of Johnson, finding him slumped over the wheel.
“We went and knocked on his door, and he was incapacitated,” the woman said. “He was kind of in and out of it. He looked at us and didn’t even seem to recognize that we were people, which was a little scary.”
The woman then parked her car near Johnson’s to block it from driving off and called 911.
A bag of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills.
( U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA))
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“I had my car nearby, and I parked it behind him and put on my hazards because his car was off, and it was 10:45 at night and he was going to get rear-ended,” the woman said.
When police arrived they blocked off Johnson’s car themselves and woke him up, but the suspect attempted to start his car and became noncompliant with police commands to stop. Officers then removed Johnson from the vehicle and noticed a gun by his feet and bags of suspected fentanyl they say matched counterfeit oxycodone pills that had been circulating in the area.
The seizure of such a large amount of the dangerous drug didn’t surprise nearby resident Rick Lambert, who said the drug has been a growing problem in the area.
Eugene Police Department building
(Eugene Police Department)
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“It doesn’t surprise me. It really is a problem that has seemed to have gotten worse over the years,” he told KEZI.
Tito Flores, a student at the nearby University of Oregon, called the situation “scary.”
“It’s scary but feels safe, too, because they were able to discover it,” Flores said.
