The Nebraska State Patrol says the 118lbs of suspected cocaine and fentanyl that troopers seized last month turned out to be all fentanyl, which would have been enough to kill more than 26 million people.
The patrol says the stash was the largest fentanyl seizure in the history of Nebraska to date, and one of the largest ever in the US.
The drugs may have been worth up to $20million on the street, according to the agency’s estimates. The Drug Enforcement Administration says just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, which is 30-50 times more potent than heroin, can be lethal.
One for the books: The Nebraska State Patrol seized a record-breaking cache of fentanyl weighing 118lbs that was found inside this secret compartment in a tractor-trailer
If the fentanyl were to hit the streets, it would have been enough to kill 26 million people
The foil-wrapped packages were found at around 10.20am on April 26 after a trooper pulled over an eastbound 2013 Freightliner truck-tractor driving on the shoulder near mile marker 280 on Interstate 80 near Kearney, 170 miles southwest of Omaha.
Troopers searched the vehicle and discovered a false compartment in the empty trailer. The compartment contained 42 foil-wrapped packages containing 118lbs of powdery substance that turned out to be fentanyl.
Troopers did not test the suspected fentanyl on the spot due to the ‘dangerous nature of the substance,’ and instead sent it to the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Lab.
The driver of the truck, Felipe Genao-Minaya, 46, and passenger, Nelson Nunez, 52, both of New Jersey, were arrested for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and no Drug Tax stamp. Both men were taken to Buffalo County Jail.
The Nebraska State Patrol was honored by the governor for the recent fentanyl and marijuana busts
The patrol says such drug seizures save lives. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fentanyl and its variants killed more than 20,000 Americans last year, and the number is increasing.
A week earlier, Nebraska troopers seized 1,853 pounds of marijuana in Fillmore County.
Gov. Pete Ricketts honored the agency and specific troopers who took part in the drugs busts in a ceremony at the State Capitol on Thursday.