Deputies in Florida arrested a convicted felon and uncovered enough fentanyl to kill nearly 5,000 people during a traffic stop in Golden Gate, Florida, on Thursday.
Edward Joseph Horn of 5442 29th Place S.W., Naples, faces charges of fentanyl trafficking, possession of marijuana over 20 grams and possession of narcotic paraphernalia.
Horn was a passenger in a silver Honda that was pulled over by deputies for a traffic infraction at Santa Barbara and Prince Andrew boulevards, in Collier County, around 1:30 a.m.
Collier County Deputies approached the vehicle, Horn attempted to hide a large bag of marijuana under the driver’s seat. The marijuana weighed 28.69 pounds.
Deputies said Horn was carrying 9.69 grams of fentanyl in his pockets – enough to kill 4,845 people.
“Thanks to the hard work and tireless efforts of our deputies, these drugs are off the street and won’t be poisoning our community,” Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, and a dose as small as a quarter of a milligram can be fatal.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says 1 kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.
Horn is a convicted felon. He was taken into custody and booked into the Collier County jail on the felony charges.
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