Seymour police recovered an estimated street value of more than $6,000 in fentanyl patches following a traffic stop on Interstate 65 near Uniontown, a record amount for the department.
Police recovered 63 fentanyl patches, 80 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 160 controlled substance tablets and around $800 in cash after a traffic stop near Exit 41 at Uniontown.
Seymour police were assisted by the Bartholomew County Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team and Drug Enforcement Agency of Indianapolis due to the volume of drugs.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“The kind of manpower it takes to deal with that amount of drugs is a lot,” Detective Adam Surface said.
Police arrested Curt Barnett, 33, of Louisville, Kentucky, on Level 2 felony charges of dealing a Schedule II drug and dealing methamphetamine.
Charles Daniel Fix, 37, also of Louisville, faces a Level 6 felony charge of possession of methamphetamine as a result of the traffic stop.
Police said the two were pulled over around 1:10 p.m. Thursday.
Detective Mike Henley said he didn’t want to think about if that amount of fentanyl patches would have hit the streets of Seymour or Jackson County. He said he felt like police prevented many from overdosing or even dying.
“There would have been several overdoses had we not intercepted this,” he said Friday. “That’s the biggest amount of fentanyl we’ve recovered patch-wise.”
He said each go for about $100 on the street, Henley estimated.
Surface said those types of patches are used by patients with chronic pain or terminal illnesses. He said those particular patches are applied to skin and are good for 72 hours.
“It was either stolen from or sold by someone to get that amount,” he said.
Surface said the patches contain a liquid gel of fentanyl, and illegal users will cut them into quarters for doses.
Barnett was booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown at 4:05 p.m. without bond. Fix was booked into the jail at 2:55 p.m. without bond.
A Level 2 felony carries a sentence between 10 and 30 years if convicted with an advisory sentence of 17½ years.
Henley said the investigation is ongoing and may lead to additional arrests.