Multnomah County deputies seized over 50 pounds of fentanyl powder at a Northeast Portland home and 8,000 fentanyl pills and another pound of fentanyl in an Oregon City home in what sheriff’s officials said Friday was their biggest fentanyl bust to date.
Deputies arrested two men and a woman Thursday on allegations of drug possession and drug trafficking after a monthslong investigation led by the county’s Dangerous Drugs Team, which includes officers from state and federal agencies.
Investigators found 52 pounds of powder in open cardboard boxes at the Portland home — enough for more than 11 million doses of fentanyl, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
Investigators also seized over $30,000 in cash and multiple guns, according to the statement.
Investigators found over 50 pounds of fentanyl powder in open boxes lined with trash bags in a drug bust Dec. 7.Multnomah County Sheriff's Office
Photos released by the sheriff’s office show what appear to be two rifles, disassembled handguns, stacks of hundred dollar bills, scales and boxes lined with trash bags filled with fentanyl.
It was the latest in a series of big fentanyl busts this year. Last month, officers uncovered 127 pounds of fentanyl in a man’s car in Klamath County, marking one of the largest fentanyl busts in Oregon history.
In July, deputies seized more than 58,000 fentanyl pills and 16 pounds of fentanyl powder in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood. Deputies also found scales, pill presses, a handgun and $5,000 in cash, they said.
In April, state police and federal agents seized around 100,000 fentanyl pills and 35 pounds of fentanyl powder in two separate traffic stops on Interstate 5 near Salem and Interstate 84 near La Grande.
Multnomah County sheriff’s officials highlighted the dangers of fentanyl use, stating that as little as 2 milligrams of the potent synthetic drug can be fatal.
There were 510 overdose deaths in Multnomah County in 2022. By September of this year, the county had surpassed that toll, reaching 516 confirmed or suspected overdose deaths. Eleven of those overdose victims were children.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
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