Major Fentanyl Bust Happens on I-70

On Wednesday morning a Mesa County Sheriff’s Officer found over 90,000 fentanyl pills after making a traffic stop on I-70. According to the deputy the vehicle was stopped about 10 miles east of the Utah state line because the car didn’t have a visible rear license plate. After a voluntary search of the car 16 wrapped packages were found. The packages contained over 90,000 blue fentanyl pills, and over 2.4 pounds of white fentanyl powder. Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The driver of the car, 22-year-old Adan Carillo-Murillo, was detained on two felony charges: possession with intent to distribute, and a special offender for transporting drugs into the state of Colorado. More than 150 people die a day from overdosing at the hands of synthetic drugs like fentanyl. Fentanyl deaths increased over 50% from 2019 to 2020, and keep dramatically rising, even making its way to Grand Junction recently. The deaths have especially been spiking after the pandemic and lockdown in 2020.

I talked to Kate Fricke, a freshman here at Palisade, to see what she thought about the fentanyl bust, “I think this is so crazy and is just a huge reminder that you really shouldn’t take any pills or candy from strangers.”

Just a few weeks ago over 60,000 pills had been discovered on the Western Slope, and after this discovery of the deadly pills on I-70 the question remains: Will the number of drugs like fentanyl in Mesa County keep rising?