Thousands of fentanyl pills seized in NE ABQ
Man, 25, is charged with trafficking controlled substances and other offenses
Deputies arrested a man and seized thousands of fentanyl pills, a large amount of cash and at least one pistol during a bust earlier this week at a Northeast Albuquerque home.
Gabriel Saiz, 25, is charged with trafficking controlled substances, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, and tampering with evidence. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Jayme Fuller, a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said detectives also enacted safety plans for two children who were present in the home.
“Their investigation regarding the children will be ongoing,” she said.
The fentanyl pills were blue and stamped with “M 30,” making them appear as oxycodone.
“An individual smoking, snorting or swallowing these does not know what level of fentanyl is in each pill or that it may contain any,” Fuller said. “The results are devastating, as some pills have little effect on the body, while others are causing overdoses and even death.”
According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:
Sheriff’s deputies between noon and 2 p.m. on Monday were surveilling a home in the 7700 block of Morrow NE, near Pennsylvania and Indian School, when they saw Saiz allegedly conduct multiple drug deals outside the house.
When detectives moved to arrest him, Saiz ran and tried to hide under an SUV in the neighborhood. After ini
tially ignoring commands by deputies, Saiz was eventually taken into custody.
Under the SUV were blue fentanyl pills scattered on the ground and a large baggie containing 500 of the same pills hidden by the spare tire. Deputies searched Saiz and found 11 more pills and more than $2,300 in cash.
Deputies then searched the home, which had surveillance cameras around its exterior, and discovered 2,000 more fentanyl pills and a loaded pistol in a bedroom.