C.O. drug agents arrest Bend man, accused of trafficking in fentanyl, meth on Hunnell Road
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man accused of importing fentanyl and methamphetamine into Central Oregon and trafficking in them at the Hunnell Road homeless encampment was arrested by drug agents Thursday in a nearby traffic stop.
The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team concluded an investigation around 12:30 p.m. with the arrest of the 41-year-old man, Sergeant Kent Vander Kamp said.
After receiving a Crime Stoppers of Oregon tip and several community complaints, CODE detectives identified the man as a trafficker in the drugs while maintaining a residence in the 20000 block of Liberty Lane, Vander Kamp said.
After a multi-day surveillance operation around the Bend area, CODE detectives sought, obtained and executed a search warrant. Around 11 a.m., he was contacted during a traffic stop at Boyd Acres and Cooley roads, riding as a passenger in an unrelated car.
Bend police officers tried to detain the man, and he resisted, but after a brief struggle was arrested without injury, the sergeant said.
CODE detectives and Bend police gathered and seized a commercial quantity of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of fentanyl and a separate package of meth. The man also was in possession of a substantial amount of cash, Vander Kamp said.
The man faces charges of drug possession and attempted delivery, as well as resisting arrest. Vander Kamp said he also was charged by Bend police in an unrelated assault investigation.
A “commercial quantity” is defined by statute as five grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl, as defined by the rules of the Oregon Board of Pharmacy. This is not a separate criminal charge but rather an increase in the sentencing guidelines.
If you or someone you know encounter any version of fentanyl, please refrain from handling it and call 911 immediately, Vander Kamp said.
Opioid abuse affects communities across the nation, including Central Oregon. Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that there were more than 107,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2021, an increase of nearly 15% from the previous year. Synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) accounted for more than three-quarters of these deaths. Drug overdose continues to be the leading cause of injury or death in the United States.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, the sergeant said A 3-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.
