A 38-year-old man was taken into custody in Florida after being found with enough fentanyl to endanger 51,500 lives.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that Ryan Edward Starr, a convicted felon, was stopped during a traffic check. Inside his vehicle, deputies discovered fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
The police also found a Springfield Hellcat pistol and a scale used for weighing drugs.
Starr now faces multiple serious charges, including:
- Possession of Cannabis (Less than 20 Grams)
- Armed Trafficking in Fentanyl (28 Grams or More)
- Armed Trafficking in Amphetamine (14-28 Grams)
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
- Possession of a Firearm During a Felony
Sheriff Chad Chronister praised the deputies for their vigilance, stating, “This stop removed enough fentanyl to potentially kill 51,500 people, keeping our community safer.”
The traffic stop occurred near Interstate 75 North along East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Starr admitted to having a history of methamphetamine use.
The investigation is still in progress.
In a separate incident last month, Mark Brents, a 57-year-old man, racked up his 75th arrest. This extensive criminal record dates back nearly 40 years.
Brents was arrested for defrauding over $4,500 through a barcode-switching scheme at Lowe’s stores throughout Hillsborough County and Clearwater. His actions allowed him to purchase expensive items at reduced prices.
He faces charges related to organized fraud, retail theft, and felony petit theft, having previously served time in prison 11 times.
In a notable operation earlier in September, U.S.-Mexico border patrol agents confiscated over $1 million worth of fentanyl from a vehicle during a checkpoint inspection in California, seizing 168 pounds of pills after a K-9 unit alerted them.