May 1, 2022 – Ventura County, Ca. – According to reports from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl, the synthetic “version” of heroin, is 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin itself; it can prove fatal when just two milligrams are ingested.
Those statistics make the interdiction of the drug—often manufactured outside the U.S. in facilities unregulated by any pharmaceutical protocols—of primary concern to those whose professional mission is to “protect and serve” the public. Among those so dedicated is the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit (PCU) and the VCSD Special Crimes Unit (SCU) working out of the Fillmore, Ca Patrol Station. According to their spokesman Sergeant John Hajducko, fatal overdoses within their jurisdiction in August 2021 incited an investigation into the activities of Lenay Guevara-Mendez, a 39-year-old resident of Oxnard.
Throughout the following eight months, detectives “developed information” leading them to the conclusion that Guevara-Mendez was “responsible for drug sales throughout Ventura County.” That information prompted the issuance of a search warrant on her residence which was served on the morning of April 22nd. Their search led detectives to the discovery of “286 grams of methamphetamine, 39 grams of fentanyl, 6 grams of heroin, numerous counterfeit pills,” as well as cash, packaging materials, and assorted paraphernalia associated with ongoing illicit drug sales.
Guevara-Mendez was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where she was boked on charges of possession for sales of a controlled substance, sales of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous drug, and sales of a dangerous drug, with her bail set at $50,000.
– by Robert L. McCullough
Photo: Courtesy www.Stats.com
