DURHAM, NC (Thursday, July 17, 2025)– As part of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s ongoing efforts to remove illicit drugs from the community, the Sheriff’s Anti-Crime and Narcotics Unit (SAC/Narc) along with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Drug Enforcement (DEA) seized 4.8 kilograms of fentanyl on Wednesday evening.

Working with information gathered as part of the multi-jurisdictional investigation, detectives located a person of interest believed to be in possession of narcotics and conducted a controlled traffic stop, during which, Sheriff’s Office K9 was brought to the scene. The K9 officer did indicate the presence of narcotics in the vehicle and as a result, a search was conducted. Inside, they located 4.8 kilos of fentanyl, a large sum ofU.S. currency, a firearm, and various paraphernalia used in the packaging of narcotics. Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation, the suspect charged in this case will remain unnamed at this time.

According to theNorth Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, from 2000-2023, more than 41,500 North Carolinians lost their lives to a drug overdose. Each day in 2023, 12 North Carolinians died from a drug overdose. Here in Durham county, we lost 138people, with98 of those occurring as a result of illicit opioid use.The Durham County Sheriff's Office is committed to fighting the opioid epidemic. We were the first in theState of North Carolina to offer Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for residents of the detention facility and our investigators are working with state, local, and federal officials to stop the flow of these illegal drugs.

"Two (2) milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose," said Durham County Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead. "According to DEA data, one (1) kilo of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. When you consider the population of Durham County to be just over 324,000, it's sobering to think of."