Barstow police seize $350k in fentanyl pills, arrest 3 men

Martin Estacio, Victorville Daily Press
·2 min read
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Barstow police seized roughly 20 pounds of fentanyl pills at an estimated value of $350,000 during a traffic stop on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
Barstow police seized roughly 20 pounds of fentanyl pills at an estimated value of $350,000 during a traffic stop on Thursday, June 30, 2022.

A traffic stop in Barstow led to the arrest of three men and the seizure of 20 pounds of fentanyl pills estimated to be worth $350,000.

The stop occurred in the early morning Thursday after a sergeant with the Barstow Police Department received a tip from the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force.

An Alameda County sheriff’s detective told the sergeant that a “load of fentanyl” was coming through the High Desert city and provided a description of the suspect vehicle and license plate number.

Barstow police officers then conducted surveillance of all the Interstate 15 northbound exits into the city.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m., officers spotted the vehicle, a red Camry, exiting Interstate 15 at Highway 58 and pulled the car over.

Authorities said three men were inside who said they were from Honduras: the driver, 27-year-old Oscar Josue Hernandez Escoto; and two passengers, 36-year-old Jose Raul Hernandez Avila and 24-year-old Osman Dominguez.

Officers searched the car and found the blue fentanyl pills packaged in plastic bags. All three men were arrested and booked into county jail on suspicion of possessing fentanyl for sale and transportation of fentanyl with intent to sell.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that the traffic stop was part of a larger drug bust which included the seizure of 23.1 pounds of powdered fentanyl, 39 grams of black tar heroin, nine grams of methamphetamine and a revolver with an “obliterated serial number.”

Officials said eight people in total were arrested on drug trafficking charges. The California Highway Patrol in Dublin, a Northern California city, also participated in the bust.

Fentanyl is a powerful, synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and just two milligrams of the drug can be lethal, the Drug Enforcement Administration has said.

Synthetic opioids were involved in 64% of the more than 100,000 estimated drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from May 2020 through April 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Barstow police seize $350k in fentanyl pills, arrest 3 men