A Kentucky man is in custody in Jasper County after officers with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Highway Interdiction / Drug Task Force seized 8,000 – 10,000 suspected fentanyl pills during a traffic stop on Interstate 65 Wednesday.
Officers stopped the 33-year-old driver heading south near Lowell for windshield obstruction and a moving violation, Lake County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Pam Jones said in a release Thursday. As the man, of Shelbyville, Kentucky, retrieved his vehicle documents, officers saw what they thought was marijuana and initiated a search, she said.
As they searched the vehicle, officers found several plastic bags packed with suspected fentanyl pills on the floor of the vehicle; they’ve since been turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Jones said.
The Post-Tribune is not identifying the man because he has not been formally charged.
“I am extremely proud of our officers for confiscating such a significant amount of fentanyl,” Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said in the release. “As of this week, the DEA has seized more than 29.7 million fentanyl pills nationwide, representing more than 139 million deadly doses.
“Every pill removed from our streets represents a life potentially saved. I commend the officers involved in this case for their diligence and commitment in the ongoing fight against the spread of opioids.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.