Photo: Ford, Brad
Today the DEA Seattle Field Division, along with our partners at the Grants Pass Police Department and Oregon State Police, are announcing the takedown of a drug and firearm trafficking ring in Southern Oregon on Tuesday. The investigation started about 18 months ago and resulted with the execution of 9 search warrants in and around Grants Pass, Oregon with 24 arrests, 37 firearms seized, as well as large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Even before Tuesday’s enforcement action, the team had already seized 40 pounds of methamphetamine and more than nine pounds of fentanyl. Very small amounts of fentanyl-just two milligrams-can be deadly. The fentanyl seized had the potential to yield more than 144,000 deadly doses. These numbers will increase as the evidence collected in the search warrants is processed.
In Oregon, the DEA has seized more than 3.84 million deadly doses of fentanyl so far this year, which is double the amount seized all of last year.
“This case once again highlights DEA’s commitment to Southern Oregon and the strength of our partnerships throughout the region,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “The drug and weapons seizures made in this cooperative effort between Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies made communities in Southern Oregon safer today.”
This takedown was made possible because of the cooperative efforts of DEA and our five offices throughout Oregon (Medford, Bend, Eugene, Salem and Portland) and our many law enforcement partners in Southern and Central Oregon, including Grants Pass Police, Oregon State Police, Central Point Police Department, Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE), Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE), Douglas County Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT), and Basin Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (BINET), and the Interagency Marijuana Enforcement Team (IMET).
This case is being prosecuted by the Josephine County District Attorney.
Last year, 110,757 Americans were killed as a result of drug poisonings, 70 percent involved fentanyl and 30 percent involved methamphetamine, according to the CDC. DEA laboratory testing indicates seven out of every 10 pills seized by DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. One Pill Can Kill | DEA.gov
Source: DEA