Feds seize 22 pounds of fentanyl in Columbus

Federal agents raided an East Side residence on Friday, arresting four people for trafficking and making one of the area’s largest seizures of fentanyl at 22 pounds.

The four men made their initial appearance Monday in U.S. District Court on federal charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. They are: Tomas Sandoval, Alvaro Gasca-Cardoso, Salatiel Ramos-Rajos and Alexis Zazueta-Soto.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with a task force of officers from state and local police departments, had been tracking the largescale drug trafficking operation, according to a release from Benjamin C. Glassman, U. S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

DEA agents and other officers descended on a residence on South Napoleon Avenue Friday. Their search yielded the fentanyl, plus 10 ounces of heroin and 2.2 pounds of methamphetamine.

The amount of fentanyl seized is about five times the 4 pounds of fentanyl recovered from the trunk of a car in a hotel parking lot on Olentangy River Road on Oct. 25. Three people were arrested in that case. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said then that the amount of fentanyl had the potential to kill a large number of people in Columbus.

Earlier this month, federal charges were made against four people when 20 pounds of fentanyl was seized in the Clark County community of New Carlisle.

Fentanyl is a man-made painkilling drug that is similar to heroin, but it is considered to be 50 times more potent. The drug is typically used to treat cancer patients. Because fentanyl is relatively cheap, dealers mix the drug with heroin. A number of people have died of overdoses from using heroin mixed with fentanyl.

Exposure to only 2-3 milligrams of fentanyl can result in a fatal overdose.