Enough Fentanyl To Kill 225 Million People Seized In RivCo During 2022 (2024)

The figure does not include narcotics busts stemming from independent investigations by local police, state or federal agencies.

Posted Mon, Mar 27, 2023 at 2:51 pm PT|Updated Mon, Mar 27, 2023 at 2:55 pm PT

The Riverside County sheriff’s Special Investigations Bureau seized 6,275,797 fentanyl tablets (otherwise known as counterfeit oxycodone M30 pills) and 485 pounds of powdered fentanyl in 2022, according to figures released by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

The Special Investigations Bureau is comprised of approximately 50 deputies, investigators and sergeants, as well as officers from local, state and federal agencies. The seizures don't include narcotics busts stemming from independent investigations by local police departments, or state or federal agencies, said Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. So, countywide total fentanyl seizures are higher.

"Law enforcement across the nation has seen an influx of illegal drugs in their jurisdictions," the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said in the weekend's released statement.

What makes the county unique is its proximity to the southern border, according to the department.

"Criminals attempt to use our communities as a transshipment hub for illegal drugs traveling across the United States," the agency said.

Although drug smuggling across the southern border is not a new problem, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department has been sounding the alarm on fentanyl for well over two years. Brito-Gonzalez said preliminary figures show approximately 500 people died last year in Riverside County from fentanyl. By comparison, in 2017 Riverside County's fentanyl deaths were 28, according to county figures.

It only takes about 2 milligrams of fentanyl to kill a human, and the narcotic is now found in a myriad of street drugs.

“The chances of you taking fentanyl are extremely high,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has repeatedly warned black-market drug buyers.

In December, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced that California had seized enough fentanyl to potentially kill the entire population of North America, twice. Riverside County's 2022 fentanyl seizures could have wiped out about 225 million people.

Some fentanyl buyers know what they were purchasing, but many do not. The 6,275,797 fentanyl tablets seized last year in the county were M30 pills, marketed fraudulently as oxycodone. The process of making M30s is very inexpensive, which makes the tablets a cash cow for distributors, according to law enforcement.

To combat fentanyl, Bianco and Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin have pledged to prosecute sellers whose products kill. In February 2021, the county's two top law enforcement officers jointly announced that, when evidence supports, murder charges will be filed against drug sellers.

Amy McKenzie serves as spokesperson for D.A. Hestrin's office. Currently, the D.A. is handling 21 active fentanyl-related death cases, she said. None have gone to trial yet, but two are getting close. Desert Hot Springs resident Chad Michael Hill, 37, is due in court this week. He pleaded not guilty last year to one murder count stemming from the August 2021 fentanyl death of Noel Roscoe, 32, according to authorities. Vincent David Romero, 34, is also facing one murder count in an unrelated fentanyl death. He is due in court next month following his June 2020 arrest in Temecula.

A push is underway to make prosecution of fentanyl dealers easier. State Senate Bill 44, dubbed "Alexandra's Law," is named after 20-year-old Alexandra Capelouto, who died in December 2019 of fentanyl poisoning while home in Temecula from college.

If passed, the legislation introduced in December by state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) would require that a person who is convicted of selling fentanyl or other deadly narcotics receive a written advisory warning of the dangers of controlled substances. The advisory would also state that, in the future, if a victim dies as a result of a dealer's products, the peddler can be charged with murder.

The advisory would be on record and used as evidence in subsequent cases against repeat offenders.

A similar advisory is currently issued to convicted drunken drivers in California. Known as the Watson advisory, repeat offenders who kill while driving under the influence can be charged with murder and face up to life in prison if convicted.

A state Senate public safety committee hearing is set Tuesday for SB 44.

In addition to fentanyl seizures, in 2022 the sheriff's Special Investigations Bureau seized 242 pounds of heroin, 12,539 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,855 pounds of cocaine and 263,338 pounds of marijuana, according to the sheriff's department.