Police in Virginia uncovered over 20,000 fentanyl-laced Percocet pills in a fire extinguisher from a vehicle.
The Prince William County Police Department reported that similar pills have been known to be distributed within the area. Officers already knew the suspected dealer and performed a vehicle stop on the suspect.
“In addition to recovered pills, suspected crack cocaine and an undisclosed amount of money were seized,” the department reported Friday.
“The suspect has been charged and further information is being restricted due to the ongoing investigation,” the post read. “This is part of law enforcement’s ongoing joint effort to combat the opioid epidemic in the country.”
Virginia saw at least 2,656 fatal overdoses in 2021 alone, according to a report from the Department of Health. Fentanyl accounted for 76.5% of those deaths. Illicit opioid-related deaths have outnumbered prescription-related deaths every year in the state since 2015. Even fatal cocaine overdoses increased 23.2% from last year alone.
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The drug arrest rate in Virginia ranked 18 out of 50 in 2019, the latest year in which the data was available, according to its Department of Criminal Justice Services. That year, the rate was 518.8 per 100,000 people.
