Photo provided by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.A Hemet man was taken into custody last week for allegedly shipping fentanyl through U.S. mail.
During the month of December, the Riverside County Gang Impact Team (GIT), in conjunction with the U.S. Postal service, investigated the illegal shipping of fentanyl through the U.S. mail, resulting in the seizure of 18.5 kilograms of fentanyl with a street value of $3 million.
An earlier investigation by the U.S. Postal Service resulted in the issuance of a federal arrest warrant for 37-year-old Ignacio Alcala. Alcala was attested on December 13 as he was leaving his apartment in the 3800 block of Devonshire Avenue in the City of Hemet.
A subsequent search of the apartment resulted in the seizure of 18.5 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, a half-pound of suspected methamphetamine, a fully automatic “ghost” gun pistol, and a second firearm that was previously reported as stolen, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s office.
Fentanyl is a manmade, synthetic opiate that is less expensive than other opiates and is highly addictive. It is 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more than morphine. A teaspoon of fentanyl contains about 5,000 milligrams. It only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to potentially be a fatal dose.
Fentanyl is killing residents at an alarming rate, affecting all races/ethnicities, sociodemographic groups, and ages, the DA’s Office said.
Riverside County recently launched a multi-department public awareness campaign about the dangers of fentanyl. To learn more, visit www.facesoffentanyl.net.
