Police: Man arrested in Banning with more than 20 grams of fentanyl
A 32-year-old man suspected of dealing fentanyl in Banning was behind bars today.
The was arrested and booked into the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning Yesterday, on suspicion of possession of controlled substances, possession of illegal drugs for sale, transportation of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was being held on $30,000 bail.
According to the Banning Police Department, about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, a patrol unit stopped the suspect for an alleged traffic violation as he was driving through the 300 block of South Highland Springs Avenue.
During the contact, the officer noticed drug paraphernalia in plain sight inside the vehicle,'' according to a police statement. "During further investigation, the officer located approximately 23 grams of suspected fentanyl powder and methamphetamine, and baggies consistent with sales of narcotics."
The man was taken into custody without incident.
Fentanyl is manufactured in overseas labs, including in China, and according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it's smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border by drug cartels.
Check Out: RivCo Gang Impact team seizes $1.5 million worth of fentanyl
The substance is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and is a popular additive, mixed into any number of narcotics and pharmaceuticals. The ingestion of only two milligrams can be fatal.
Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin told the Board of Supervisors last month that there were nearly 500 fentanyl-induced deaths countywide in 2021, which represents a 250-fold increase from 2016, when only two such fatalities were documented.
According to the county, there have been 79 fentanyl-induced deaths so far this year (Jan-March).
Statistics published in May by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed there were roughly 108,000 fatal drug overdoses in 2021, and fentanyl poisoning accounted for over 80,000 of them.
