By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

Colorado law enforcement seized its largest stash of illegal fentanyl pills in state history.

It was also the sixth-largest one-time fentanyl pill seizure in U.S. history.

The announcement was made on Monday by Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly, who worked in conjunction with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division.

“This played out like an episode of a TV show,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge David Olesky in a press release. “There is no doubt many lives have been saved by keeping these poison pills off the streets of Colorado.”

According to authorities, in total, the seizure brought in:

• 198 kilograms of counterfeit fentanyl pills, approximately 1.7 million pills.

• 12 kilograms of fentanyl powder.

• 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine.

That is enough to kill millions of Americans.

The seizure was made at a storage facility in Highlands Ranch, a suburb south of the Denver metro area. It came after a citizen who legally purchased an abandoned storage unit opened the unit and made a report to law enforcement after discovering illegal narcotics.

When authorities arrived on scene, they found a “massive quantity” of kilogram-sized packages and M-30 pills, which are counterfeit pills containing fentanyl.

“I want to thank the citizen who reported this discovery, the storage facility staff for their cooperation, and the deputies who responded quickly and professionally,” said Weekly. “Let me send a strong and unmistakable message: Fentanyl and illegal narcotics will not be tolerated in Douglas County. Our deputies, detectives and crime lab professionals are committed to keeping this community safe, and we will remain relentless in that mission.”

The original owner of the storage unit had been previously taken into custody by the DEA in April, which led to the eventual auctioning off of the unit. They have not been identified, but remain in federal custody.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis applauded the seizure.

“I want to thank everyone who helped us with the largest successful fentanyl seizure in Colorado history,” Polis said. “Getting more of this deadly drug off the streets saves lives. In Colorado, we are cracking down on crime, apprehending dangerous criminals, and keeping our communities safe.”

This comes just weeks after U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colorado, proposed a bill to combat the growing fentanyl crisis throughout the country.

Previously reported on by The Center Square, the bipartisan bill would establish taxpayer-funded grant programs to help state and local law enforcement agencies and nonprofits.

“This legislation will help to educate families, while giving our law enforcement the tools and critical resources they need to combat this and keep Coloradans safe,” Evans said. “Everyone deserves to live in a community free from the threat of fentanyl poisonings.”

Over the past few years, there has been a steep increase in the number of fentanyl deaths in Colorado.

In 2019, there were 222 fentanyl-related deaths. In 2023, there were 1,097. That is a nearly 400% increase in just four years.

This is according to a June report from the Common Sense Institute of Colorado, which also found that fentanyl accounted for 68% of all drug overdose deaths in 2023. That is a 25.7% increase from 2020.