Authorities Saturday said they seized two kilograms of fentanyl -- a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine -- during a gang-related investigation in downtown Riverside.
The seizure occurred Thursday evening, according to John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.
“Taking this amount of fentanyl off of the street has undoubtedly saved lives,” said Joe DelGiudice, the office's chief of investigators. “It is a drug like nothing I have seen in my 28 years in law enforcement. It is deadly.”
Authorities said two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal for most people, meaning the fentanyl seized amounted to 1 million potentially lethal doses. The drug has been responsible for an increase in fatal overdoses, according to Hall.
Fentanyl pills are typically embossed with an identifiable logo by the supplier, which in this case included one associated with the New York Yankees, Hall said.
No further details were provided and the investigation is ongoing.
