OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- On Wednesday, March 12th, the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD) shared a Facebook post showcasing a package that had over three pounds of fentanyl, after a man reported a strange package was delivered to his home that he wasn't expecting.
According to NewsNation, the box had an "X" symbol on the left, a carving of a skull with a knife in its mouth in the middle of the package, and a third symbol on the right resembling the numeral one. Edwin Rios, who lives in the neighborhood where the package was found, said, "Like, where would it, where did it come from?"
Police said that the incident happened in a neighborhood near Southwest 25th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on March 5th. The incident report states that the man told police he opened the box inside his house and found a plastic-wrapped item inside of it. The item was wrapped in several layers of plastic, brown paper, and a final layer of electrical tape covered in axle grease.
The report says that the man realize something wasn't right, took the package back outside and called 911. Thinking if it had happened to him, Rios said, "I would be scared. I would be terrified. They got to get it off the streets."
The police report said that authorities verified the contents of the box as testing positive for fentanyl and confirmed it weighed 3.1 pounds. To put this into perspective, the U.S. drug enforcement agency said that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal to one person depending on their size, tolerance, and past usage.
Given that context, the amount of fentanyl found is enough to kill at least 680,388 people, which is more than what the U.S. Census Bureau reports as the City of Tulsa's entire population of more than 411,000 people in a 2023 census, and nearly all of Oklahoma City's population in a census conducted the same year at a little over 702,000 Oklahomans.
The police report does not mention where the package came from or who delivered it. It only says that the man who received the package did not recognize the return address. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) said that methods like these are becoming far too common. OBN spokesperson Mark Woodward said, "There's just countless ways in which people tied to these criminal groups are trying to move fentanyl into the United States. They may try to send multiple packages, thinking if at least a few of them get across that's profit for the criminal organizations."
Woodward said situations like this latest seizure should serve as a warning to never open a package you are not expecting. He added, "Anytime somebody receives a package that is not addressed to them, they should notify the shipping company and have them come get it."
According to KOCO, over the last month Oklahoma law enforcement agencies have seized large quantities of fentanyl, raising concerns about the drug's presence throughout the state. Aaron Brilbeck of the Oklahoma City County Sheriff's Office said, "The equivalency of a grain of salt can kill a person."
He said, "Even though we're seeing more border security on the southern side, we're still seeing quite a bit of fentanyl that our guys are stopping pretty much on the regular."
On Wednesday, March 12th, OBN posted to social media about it confiscating 850 fentanyl pills in northwest Oklahoma. Brilbeck said, "There have been some big hauls, and we're happy to see that, but it also tells us there's a lot more out there that we're not getting."
According to NewsNation, the box had an "X" symbol on the left, a carving of a skull with a knife in its mouth in the middle of the package, and a third symbol on the right resembling the numeral one. Edwin Rios, who lives in the neighborhood where the package was found, said, "Like, where would it, where did it come from?"
Police said that the incident happened in a neighborhood near Southwest 25th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on March 5th. The incident report states that the man told police he opened the box inside his house and found a plastic-wrapped item inside of it. The item was wrapped in several layers of plastic, brown paper, and a final layer of electrical tape covered in axle grease.
The report says that the man realize something wasn't right, took the package back outside and called 911. Thinking if it had happened to him, Rios said, "I would be scared. I would be terrified. They got to get it off the streets."
The police report said that authorities verified the contents of the box as testing positive for fentanyl and confirmed it weighed 3.1 pounds. To put this into perspective, the U.S. drug enforcement agency said that two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal to one person depending on their size, tolerance, and past usage.
Given that context, the amount of fentanyl found is enough to kill at least 680,388 people, which is more than what the U.S. Census Bureau reports as the City of Tulsa's entire population of more than 411,000 people in a 2023 census, and nearly all of Oklahoma City's population in a census conducted the same year at a little over 702,000 Oklahomans.
The police report does not mention where the package came from or who delivered it. It only says that the man who received the package did not recognize the return address. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) said that methods like these are becoming far too common. OBN spokesperson Mark Woodward said, "There's just countless ways in which people tied to these criminal groups are trying to move fentanyl into the United States. They may try to send multiple packages, thinking if at least a few of them get across that's profit for the criminal organizations."
Woodward said situations like this latest seizure should serve as a warning to never open a package you are not expecting. He added, "Anytime somebody receives a package that is not addressed to them, they should notify the shipping company and have them come get it."
According to KOCO, over the last month Oklahoma law enforcement agencies have seized large quantities of fentanyl, raising concerns about the drug's presence throughout the state. Aaron Brilbeck of the Oklahoma City County Sheriff's Office said, "The equivalency of a grain of salt can kill a person."
He said, "Even though we're seeing more border security on the southern side, we're still seeing quite a bit of fentanyl that our guys are stopping pretty much on the regular."
On Wednesday, March 12th, OBN posted to social media about it confiscating 850 fentanyl pills in northwest Oklahoma. Brilbeck said, "There have been some big hauls, and we're happy to see that, but it also tells us there's a lot more out there that we're not getting."
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