Officers searching for illegally parked vehicles near the Flying J Truck Stop in Lathrop ended up finding something they didn’t expect – fentanyl.

Last week Lathrop Police officers were making a targeted sweep of the area near the truck stop on Roth Road when they came across a vehicle that had two occupants inside and drug paraphernalia that was “in plain sight” as officers approached.

The two suspects were removed from the vehicle and a search was conducted that turned up a substance that officers believe is fentanyl as well as prescription pills and a substance believed to be methamphetamine.

One suspect, from Valley Springs, was taken into custody and charged with possession of fentanyl for sale and possession of narcotic medications they were not prescribed. The other suspect, from Brentwood, was taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of suspected methamphetamine, and possession of suspected fentanyl.

The substances were sent to a laboratory for testing to verify their chemical makeup.

“This is yet another example of the proactive work our officers are doing to fight crime, especially when it comes to getting dangerous narcotics out of our community,”

In a photo released by the agency, an unknown substance believed to be fentanyl was tagged with a special sticker that contained the skull-and-crossbones warning – a testament to the strength of the substance that can be extremely deadly to those without a tolerance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 83,000 people died in 2022 from opiate-related deaths – spurred largely by the boom in fentanyl and the penetration of drug markets with the cheap, incredibly potent substance. While last year may have marked a slight decline in the number of overall overdose deaths, there was a slight increase in the number of deaths believed to be tied to opiates like fentanyl.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the region have been working to keep fentanyl – which can kill someone with a single dose if they don’t have a tolerance for opiate medications – off of the streets. San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas has launched a “One Pill Can Kill” ad campaign intended at educating the public about the dangers of fentanyl and why people should be vigilant about its prevalence and its use.

While federal authorities have worked diligently to cut down on drug diversion and keeping narcotic medications out of the hands of people for whom it is not prescribed, drug cartels have filled the void by getting precursor chemicals from other countries and cooking the drugs in labs themselves – flooding the markets with counterfeit pills that some customers believe are pharmaceutical narcotics.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.