A 38-year-old man was arrested in Florida on Tuesday over trafficking enough fentanyl to kill 51,500 people.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office said Ryan Edward Starr, already a convicted felon in the state, was apprehended during a traffic stop. Deputies found three different drugs inside the vehicle, which upon testing were determined to be fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
Also inside the vehicle was a Springfield Hellcat pistol and a digital scale.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office told Newsweek that Starr was the vehicle’s passenger, and that the driver was not arrested.
Ryan Edward Starr, 38. Law enforcement said Starr, already a convicted felon in the state, was apprehended during a traffic stop.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Starr’s charges included:
- 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 Firearm During Commission of a Felony
“I commend our deputies for their proactive patrol in our community,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister.
“This potentially routine traffic stop removed enough fentanyl to kill 51,500 people from our streets and ensures this dangerous man can no longer spread this poison here in Hillsborough County.”
The traffic stop occurred near Interstate 75 North and East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Starr told authorities he had a history of methamphetamine usage.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Law enforcement said Starr was trafficking enough fentanyl to kill 51,500 people. Deputies also found a Springfield Hellcat pistol, a digital scale, and three different drugs, which would later be tested and verified as marijuana, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Newsweek has contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for information and additional comment via email outside of standard working hours.
In an unrelated incident last month, a Florida man chalked up his 75th arrest in a criminal career spanning nearly four decades.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested 57-year-old Mark Brents and booked him into the Orient Road Jail—the 75th arrest since 1985—for defrauding over $4,500 in merchandise during 10 separate incidents.
An investigation launched in August revealed a barcode manipulation scheme targeting Lowe’s stores across Hillsborough County and Clearwater, police said at the time. Brents’ fraudulent activities involved switching barcodes from more expensive merchandise with tags from cheaper items, allowing him to buy products on a discount.
Charges against Brents, who has also been in prison 11 times, included organized scheme to defraud, retail theft, and felony petit theft.
Earlier in September, U.S.-Mexico border patrol agents seized a massive haul of fentanyl worth over $1 million from a car’s trunk at a checkpoint in California.
Agents discovered 168 pounds of fentanyl pills on September 5 after a K-9 team alerted authorities to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle.
An investigation by Newsweek uncovered that drug dealers are supplying customers with fentanyl across the U.S. by exploiting secret groups on the Telegram messaging app.
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