Fentanyl Bust Yielded Enough to Kill Everyone in NYC and NJ

Two men who were snared in a massive fentanyl bust last year were sentenced to prison after it was revealed they possessed enough of the deadly drug to kill the entire population of New York City and New Jersey combined.

Fentanyl, a super-potent opioid, is used by street-drug dealers to boost heroin and create counterfeit oxycodone pills. Most opioid overdose deaths reportedly now involve fentanyl.

Jesus Carrillo-Pineda, 31, of Philadelphia, and 28-year-old Daniel Vasquez of Somerton, Arizona, were among four men arrested in what the state is referring to as “a record-setting seizure,” Fox News reported.

At least 45 kilos of fentanyl were seized by the New Jersey State Police during the operation, an amount that could have yielded over 18 million lethal doses, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office said.

Both men pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 and a week later Carrillo-Pineda was sentenced to 10 years in state prison while Vasquez received six years behind bars.

The charges against a third suspect were dismissed last week while the fourth suspect, 38-year-old Omar Zeus Rodriguez, is still on the loose, NBC News reported.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes fentanyl as a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but between 50 to 100 times more potent.

CNN reported there was a 200 percent increase in death rates linked to opioid overdose since 2000, with the latest statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that 5,500 people died of synthetic opioid overdoses in 2014 alone, most of them related to fentanyl.

• Fentanyl Bust: Enough to Kill Half of New York City
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