24 Pounds of Fentanyl? Police Think That's What They Found Dickson Co. Car Search on I-40

A secret compartment found by drug task force agents in a vehicle being hauled through Dickson County contained 24 pounds of a drug, likely fentanyl, officials said.

Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that’s about 50 times more powerful than heroin or morphine; a lethal dose for most people is 2 milligrams. So if the haul found in Dickson County is indeed pure fentanyl, the amount would be enough to kill 5.4 million people.

Police stopped the truck, which was hauling vehicles, on eastbound Interstate 40 on June 20, said an agent with the 23rd Judicial District Drug Task Force, who asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of his job.

After talking with the driver, consent to search the vehicles was granted, the agent said.

The truck was moved to a Dickson truck stop and agents discovered what looked like “non-factory” changes to the vehicle.

They found the secret compartment, the agent said, which contained 11 kilos, or 24 pounds, of the drug.

Agents believe the truck hauling company was likely unaware the vehicle contained the drug.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the rapid spread of fentanyl is likely due to the fact it offers a high profit margin for traffickers.

Traffickers can typically purchase a kilogram of fentanyl powder for a few thousand dollars from a Chinese supplier, transform it into hundreds of thousands of pills, and sell the counterfeit pills for millions of dollars in profit, according to the DEA.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/dickson/2018/07/06/24-lbs-powerful-opioid-found-40-dickson-co-car-search/763890002/