FLINT, MI – A July investigation by the Flint Police Department’s Special Investigative Unit led to the seizure of one kilogram of Fentanyl and three arrests, authorities with the department said during a Tuesday, Aug. 9, news conference.
In the announcement, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley commended the department’s work for tackling another issue the city has been dealing with in recent years.
“The level of narcotics that has been secured and taken into custody by our Special Investigation units has the ability to cause great fatalities to residents of this community and elsewhere,” Neeley said. “This level of this narcotic, being as dangerous as it is, the city of Flint with 80,000 plus residents, it has the ability to cause great harm to each and every one of the residents, if not death. This is a very dangerous narcotic.”
The seizure was significant, Flint Police Chief Terence Green said, amounting to $500,000.
It is another step in the city’s efforts to combat the use and spread of Fentanyl – a potentially fatal opioid.
“(The) seizure of this large quantity of fentanyl definitely saved lives,” Green said Tuesday. “Not only throughout the United States and the city of Flint, every major city has experienced this opioid epidemic.”
Flint has been battling an issue with overdoses in 2022, with the number of total overdoses and fatal overdoses increasing from 2021.
According to data provided by the Flint Intelligence Bureau, the city has reported 432 non-fatal overdoses this year, including 64 in July. The total is a more than 30% increase from the same timeframe in 2021.
Forty-one fatal overdoses have been reported in Flint thus far in 2022, with six in July. The total number of fatal overdoses is a more than 86% increase from last year.
“And we think those numbers will continue to rise,” Green said. “Seizures such as this, it does help the fight, but yes, Fentanyl is a major, major issue in the city of Flint, Genesee County. We’re fighting against violent crime, we’re fighting against overdose deaths.”
Photos of the narcotics were presented at the news conference in lieu of having the actual evidence on display because Fentanyl is dangerous, Green said.
The drug is typically used on the street to cut with other drugs, such as cocaine. That is what the chief said he believes the large quantity of the narcotic seized last month would be used for.
Green said the drug can be harmful to people simply by inhaling the powder, and that its frequent use on the street continues to be a problem.
Three people were arrested in connection with the investigation, but they were each released pending further investigation, Green said.
It remains unclear how the drugs were brought to the city, and Green noted there are several ways drug traffickers move narcotics.
“That’s the reason why we don’t have the actual Fentanyl here, because it’s so dangerous,” he said. “The dust from the Fentanyl, you inhale it (and it) may cause death or definitely serious medical issues. It’s very dangerous.”
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