A man and woman have been arrested after police discovered 46lbs of a drug 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fetanyl.
More than 46lbs of carfentanil were discovered – enough to kill 50 million people – inside a Southern California home, as well as 9lbs of cocaine and 2lbs of heroin.
Andres Jesus Morales, 20, and Christine Ponce, 23, were charged with four felonies for possession for sales of fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.
The arrests followed a lengthy investigation by the Riverside Police Department and is believed to be largest seizure of carfentanil in Riverside County, officials said.
Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid so powerful that it can be fatal at a nanogram level and the amount seized would have been enough to kill 50 million people if mixed with other drugs, police said.
Designed as a tranquiliser for elephants, is not intended for human consumption and can be dangerous to even come into contact with without protective gear.
Emergency services have warned that carfentanil is being added to other drugs, putting unsuspecting users at high risk of a potentially fatal overdose.
In a statement by the Riverside Country officials, they said police had been investigating a suspected drug trafficking organisation that was believed to be supplying fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin in the area.
The statement read: “Carfentanil is an analog of the manmade opioid fentanyl. It is highly regulated and not intended or approved for use on humans. And it is more potent and potentially much more deadly than fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It only takes about two milligrams of fentanyl to be a fatal amount.
“Carfentanil is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. A lethal dose of carfentanil in humans would be at the nanogram level.
“If mixed in with other drugs, the 21 kilos of carfentanil seized could have been enough to potentially kill more than 50 million people.”
The pair both pleaded guilty and are being held without bail. They are due to appear in court again on November 9.
