June 5, 2023 4:00 p.m. 

Detectives with the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team recently seized a kilo, which is 2.2 pounds, of suspected carfentanil which was being trafficked into the county, and arrested a California woman.

Lieutenant Rick McArthur of DINT said the seizure took place on May 30th. McArthur said 41-year old Alma Adriana Fuentes of Live Oak, was contacted during the course of a traffic stop on Interstate 5 near Sutherlin. During the stop, an Oregon State Police canine was applied to Fuente’s vehicle and positively alerted to the presence of controlled substances.

McArthur said a search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of the suspected drug.

Suspect interviews indicated the carfentanil was destined for Douglas County, but was intercepted before it could reach its final destination. Fuentes was charged with unlawful manufacture or unlawful distribution and unlawful possession of a schedule II- controlled substance.

McArthur said carfentanil is a synthetic opioid which is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. DINT has seen a substantial increase in fentanyl and fentanyl analogues such as carfentanil entering the county. McArthur said this has resulted in numerous overdoses and deaths. The seizure is the second large seizure of suspected canfentanil in the county. McArthur called it “a concerning trend” due to the potency of the drug.

McArthur said one kilogram of fentanyl equals 1,000 grams or 1,000,000 milligrams. Based on the information provided by the DEA and the CDC in regard to a lethal dose of fentanyl – two milligrams – this amount could be in excess of 500,000 lethal doses.

McArthur said these statistics are shocking and nearly unimaginable, but noted this is a “lethal dosage amount”, not the amount which users may ingest during average use. He said most users will use less than a lethal dose each time they use. However, when dealing with such small amounts of a powerful drug, it is easy to see how mistakes can be made. McArthur said this is why it is important for people to abstain from drug use altogether, and to teach youth the dangers of ingesting any unknown substances.

McArthur said fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have now become the number one hard drug seized by DINT. This is the first time since DINT was formed in 1989 that methamphetamine has been surpassed in total seizures, by any other hard drug.

McArthur said Fuentes was detained without bail and released later in the day due to medical issues.