DEA, deputies bust illegal Fentanyl operation in Monterey

UPDATE 05/10/17 10 p.m.: A drug bust in Monterey landed two people behind bars, both accused of illegally distributing a dangerous painkiller.

Monterey residents Madeline Sweet, 28, and Everette Cody Reed, 28, were taken to the county jail Tuesday. They are expected to face federal drug charges.

The sheriff’s office, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration found the two have been operating a fentanyl lab for three months.

Sweet and Reed’s arrests came after investigators intercepted a USPS package Monday with 5 grams of furanylfentanyl powder.

“They were working together in the production and distribution of the fentanyl,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said black-market fentanyl is typically imported from the Netherlands and China, and it is 50 to 100 times more powerful than heroin.

The drug is so potent that it’s typically used to treat cancer patients. It comes in the form of a patch.

“The medication itself is extremely dangerous. It’s very potent. It only takes a very small amount, and we are talking micrograms that can actually hurt somebody or can possibly kill them,” said Jeff Sherman, owner of Sherman’s Pharmacy in Salinas.

This incident is the first fentanyl bust for Monterey County.

“On the East Coast, they’ve seen 25 percent increase in deaths from overdose from opioids and those drugs. So yes, it’s a huge concern that we would also see the same increase or the same influx of this drug that is more powerful than I think anybody is ready for,”
Thornburg said.

Bruce Loisel runs a methadone clinic in Salinas and said patients have increased by 20 percent over the past five years.

When people can’t get drugs from their doctors, they turn to illegal dealers.

“If you buy fentanyl off the street, you have no idea, a person has no idea what the dosage is, what the purity is, they don’t know whether it’s mixed with other substances. Essentially, it may be mixed with another drug that would make it potentially fatal,” Lionel said.

PREVIOUS STORY: Two people are facing federal drug charges after local and federal investigators uncovered an illegal furanylfentanyl distribution operation in Monterey this week.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said on May 8, a USPS parcel containing the drug was intercepted and traced to a person in Monterey. On May 9, the sheriff’s office along with the Drug Enforcement Administration served two federal search warrants in Monterey.

During their search, investigators said Madeline Sweet, 28, and Everette Cody Reed, 28, were arrested for illegal distribution of dangerous narcotics. Both were booked in the Monterey County Jail.

The sheriff’s office describes the drug as a powerful synthetic opiate, typically imported from the Netherlands and China. furanylfentanyl is more than 100 times more powerful than heroin and is tied to accidental overdoses, according to investigators.

KION is digging into this story and will have more details as information becomes available.