POLK COUNTY, Fla. – In its largest fentanyl seizure, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said it confiscated enough fentanyl that could kill 2.7 million people.
Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies seized 11 pounds of fentanyl during an investigation that resulted in the arrests of three men — Ignacio Rodriguez, 28; Mario Alberto Castro Solache, 29; and Pedro Mondragon, 27.
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The sheriff’s office’s estimate that 11 pounds of fentanyl could kill 2.7 million people comes from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s claim that 2 milligrams of fentanyl could constitute a lethal dose of the powerful drug “depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.”
The investigation began in September when detectives learned of an international drug trafficking organization bringing fentanyl from Mexico to Bradenton and ultimately into Polk County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff said the suspects were connected to “warring gangs” in Mexico, trafficking the drug into Polk County.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations Tampa officer were among the agencies assisting in the investigation.
Rodriguez faces several charges, including trafficking in fentanyl and conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl.
Solache and Mondragon each face a charge of conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl.
Mondragon and Rodriguez both bonded out of jail.
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