MESA, Ariz. — A welfare check on the 4th of July turned into a drug bust that ended with Mesa police officers seizing more than 200 pounds of fentanyl pills estimated to be worth around $1.2 million.
A caller told police that the driver of a gold Cadillac in a parking lot near Country Club Drive and Rio Salado Parkway appeared to be slumped over and unconscious, Mesa police said on Tuesday.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: La policía de Mesa incautó fentanilo con un valor de 1.2 millones de dólares en una redada antidrogas el 4 de julio
When officers approached the vehicle, the driver, 26-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez reportedly jumped out of the car to run away. Two other people in the car, 38-year-old Julian Reyes and 24-year-old Sunflower Short, stayed behind with one officer while the others chased Rodriguez.
Inside the car, officers saw several small blue pills scattered around along with a partially-opened duffel bag with several packages in it, police said.
When officers searched the car, they found that the packages contained roughly 750,000 M30 fentanyl pills.
Reyes and Short were arrested and booked into jail and face possible drug-related charges. Rodriguez, who reportedly cut his arm on razor wire while running away, is currently hospitalized but is facing similar charges.
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