(WHDH) – Two men were sentenced on Friday for possessing lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill the combined population of New Jersey and New York City.
According to a news release by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, 31-year-old Jesus Carrillo-Pineda and 28-year-old Daniel Vasquez will serve six years in prison for having 45 kilos — nearly 100 pounds — of fentanyl. The NJ Attorney General’s Office said the amount of fentanyl could have yielded in over 18 million lethal doses.
Carrillo-Pineda and Vasquez pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 and were sentenced on Friday.
Both were arrested on June 28, 2017 by New Jersey State Police during an attempted transfer of 40 kilograms of fentanyl from a tractor-trailer occupied by Vasquez and a second man to Carrillo-Pineda.
“Many lives were undoubtedly saved as a result of this record-setting fentanyl seizure by the New Jersey State Police,” said Attorney General Grewal. “The 100 pounds of fentanyl trafficked into our state by these drug dealers could have generated enough lethal doses to kill the entire populations of New Jersey and New York City combined.”
Fentanyl is one of the deadliest opioids with a potency that is 50 to 100 times greater than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you, the Drug Enforcement Administration says.
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