LAPD seizes $4M in fentanyl, enough dosage to potentially kill entire population of Los Angeles

Los Angeles police made a major drug bust this week, seizing enough fentanyl to potentially kill every resident of the city. 

The bust resulted during a narcotics investigation near downtown Los Angeles that involved multiple Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) divisions. 

The LAPD arrested 28-year-old Jose Alberto Soto on a charge of sales of fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid. 

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An investigation led to police executing a search warrant in the 7500 block of Central Avenue in South Los Angeles, where officers found more than 50 pounds of powdered fentanyl and nearly nine pounds of black tar heroin, plus $14,500 in U.S. currency. 

That amount represents around $4 million in street value, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Authorities say 2 mg is enough for a potentially lethal dose. With that in mind, the amount of fentanyl seized this week is enough to potentially kill more than 11 million people, nearly three times the population of Los Angeles. 

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Online jail records show Soto remains in custody without bail. It was not clear if he had retained an attorney who could speak on his behalf. 

A Drug Enforcement Administration chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Though it is used for legitimate purposes to help trauma victims being treated in hospitals, illicit use has proliferated in the last decade. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there were nearly 75,000 overdose deaths from fentanyl last year. More than 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.