A Colorado man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for possession of 5,800 fentanyl pills, authorities announced on Dec. 30.
Andrew Durdy, 27, a resident of the city of Greely, was sentenced on Dec. 21, according to a press release from the Weld County District Attorney.
He was found guilty in October of possession and intention to distribute the lethal drug.
In 2021, police were investigating Durdy, who sold fentanyl to undercover officers.
During that time, police intercepted three postal packages that Durdy was to receive, which contained fentanyl sent from California.
In total, 5,800 fentanyl pills were seized.
“This was a conservative count,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia told the judge during the sentencing hearing.
“Any one of those pills could have killed someone. Bottom line, he made a profit off destroying other people’s lives, and we won’t tolerate this type of behavior in our community.”
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. As little as 2 milligrams is potentially enough to be lethal.
Fentanyl Busts
On Dec. 28, Border Patrol agents at the Port of Nogales in Arizona seized over 1.2 million fentanyl pills and 4 pounds of fentanyl powder, officials said.
Just over a week earlier, the DEA announced that it seized over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022, which represents more than 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.
That figure is more than double the amount the DEA seized in 2021, according to the agency.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 102,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in January 2022, of which 67 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.
