SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA — Last week, a Detective from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and a California Highway Patrol Officer, as part of DHE/REACT (Domestic Highway Enforcement/Regional Enforcement of All Crimes Team), were working in the area of Interstate 5 and Airport Boulevard and observed a Jeep Cherokee commit a moving traffic violation. They conducted a traffic stop when Sheriff’s K9 Ronan alerted them to the odor of narcotics. A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded two duffel bags and a shopping bag containing multiple vacuum-sealed packages of counterfeit M30 Fentanyl pills. The total weight of the seized pills was over 66 pounds, which was approximately 330,000 pills.
The driver, identified as 45-year-old Joaquin Hernandez from Washington State, was arrested and booked into the Yolo County Jail. His initial bail was set to $20,000. Detectives requested a bail enhancement, but it was denied by a judge.
Per the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), it takes only a few granules of fentanyl, weighing only two or three milligrams to have lethal consequences for an average person. A 2023 DEA laboratory study found that 7 out of every 10 fentanyl pills confiscated contained a deadly amount of fentanyl. The Centers for Disease (CDC) estimated that in 2023, more than 112,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of drug poisoning. This seizure of fentanyl highlights the very real danger that our community and communities across the country are facing. This seizure is estimated to be enough fentanyl to produce between 10-15 million lethal doses – enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in the Sacramento Metro Area… six times over.
REACT is a collaborative initiative between the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, and the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.
