DENVER — Federal agents are calling it one of the largest fentanyl busts in U.S. history. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says roughly 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills — along with 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder — were discovered inside a storage unit in Highlands Ranch, a suburb of Denver.
The powder alone could have produced an estimated six million additional pills.
“This played out like an episode of a TV show, where a winning bidder legally bought a storage unit and unbeknownst to them, the unit contained 1.7 million counterfeit fentanyl pills and another 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge David Olesky in a press release.
Authorities say the buyer immediately contacted the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office after seeing what was inside. The registered owner of the unit, whose name has not been released, is now in federal custody. Authorities are still investigating.
“I want to thank the citizen who reported this discovery, the storage facility staff for their cooperation, and the deputies who responded quickly and professionally,” said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly.
The DEA says this is the largest single seizure of counterfeit fentanyl pills in Colorado history — and the sixth-largest ever recorded in the United States.
“There is no doubt many lives have been saved by keeping these poison pills of the streets of Colorado,” said Olesky.
The record seizure is connected with an ongoing DEA and Colorado Bureau of Investigation case.
