BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio — Enough fentanyl to kill thousands of people was seized during drug search warrants in Middletown and Sharonville, the Butler County Sheriff's Office said.
Butler County's Undercover Regional Narcotics Task Force, the FBI and Middletown police conducted drug search warrants on two homes and recovered three pounds of fentanyl, 340 grams of meth and $9,700, Sheriff Richard K. Jones said.
Around 5 p.m. on April 21, police searched 4715 Roosevelt Ave. in Middletown and 11651 Timber Ridge Lane in Sharonville where they recovered the drugs and cash.
"We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to get these dealers behind bars and drugs off our streets," Sheriff Jones said. "This much fentanyl can kill over 500,000 people."
Shawn Lattimore, a 29-year-old from Sharonville, was charged with possession of drugs. Police said more charges may accompany the felony following pending lab results.
Police said the street value of the drugs seized is more than $160,000.
Recently, Dave Yost, Ohio's attorney general, warned about a dangerous new opioid, nitazene, which was found in Butler County. The synthetic opioid is usually found mixed with other drugs — primarily fentanyl. It has also been found in combination with cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and PCP analogs, Yost said.
Yost's office said Butler County has some of the most cases in our region, with the chemical showing up in 14 to 19 cases in the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigators lab.
Due to the emergence of nitazenes, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy emergency scheduled seven nitazenes as Schedule I controlled substances on April 6 due to their imminent danger to public health, welfare and safety. The emergency scheduling is currently effective for 180 days but may become more prolonged or permanent in the future. Schedule I controlled substances have no medicinal purposes, and those found in possession or selling these substances will face heightened criminal charges.
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