Anonymous tip leads officers to find 108,000 fentanyl-laced pills during traffic stop in St. George – St. George News

File photo shows a St. George Police cruiser in St. George, Utah, August 10, 2023 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – An anonymous tip led to the seizure of more than 108,000 suspected counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl during a traffic stop near the Southern Parkway exit over the weekend.

On Saturday, officers received information, relayed anonymously to the St. George Consolidated Communications Center, regarding a vehicle believed to be traveling through the area with a significant amount of illegal narcotics.

According to charging documents filed in court, the reporting party said the vehicle, described as a white Nissan Quest, would be heading to Utah in the next few hours.

Officers positioned themselves on Interstate 15 near the port of entry to look for the vehicle, and just before 8 p.m., officers spotted a Nissan with Texas license plates heading north into Utah.

As the Nissan approached, it appeared the patrol vehicles stopped at the state line and slowed sharply, according to police when the driver noticed it.

“I then pulled onto the interstate to follow the vehicle and as I did so, the driver quickly activated the right turn signal and began to take the northbound port of entry exit,” the officer noted in the report.

But instead of getting out, the driver allegedly pulled back into the lane without signaling, continued driving below the posted speed limit and then took the Southern Parkway exit.

Officers noticed that one of the vehicle’s brake lights was inoperable and several air fresheners hanging from the Nissan’s rearview mirror were “blocking the windshield,” prompting the officer to conduct a traffic stop at the intersection of Sun River Parkway and Pioneer Drive in St. George to carry out. says the report.

As he spoke with the driver, identified by her Mexican passport as 27-year-old Jazmin Tentory-Ortega of Houston, Texas, the officer noticed that the vehicle was completely empty except for a dark duffel bag covered by a sweater destroyed was empty.

While the officer spoke with the driver, a K-9 officer was deployed to sniff the exterior of the vehicle in the open air, and when the animal indicated the possible presence of narcotics, a search of the vehicle ensued.

Officers reportedly found 10 plastic-wrapped packages in the holdall that were heat-sealed and smelled of gasoline. Police say smugglers often use this tactic to mask the smell of narcotics and prevent a dog from detecting the drug.

Each of the packages was filled with small round pills consistent with counterfeit oxycodone and fentanyl, the report said. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, counterfeit pills look like prescription opioids but often contain methamphetamine or fentanyl and are deadlier than ever. The packages had a combined weight of 24 pounds, equivalent to more than 108,000 individual pills.

These illegal pills have have become extremely popular but also extremely effective, the official wrote, leading to a “significant increase in drug-related overdoses.”

The driver was arrested and taken to Purgatory Correctional Facility. She was charged with second-degree possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and four traffic violations.

The packages were reportedly picked up in California and were destined for Denver, Colorado. There was evidence that the Nissan was purchased a few days before the traffic stop.

According to illegal drug prices in Denver, the street value of the seized pills was more than $1.6 million.

Based on her statements indicating that her entire family lives in Mexico, officials asked that Ortega be held without bail because she has no ties to Utah. Therefore, police determined that Ortega posed a significant flight risk if released.

The request was approved and shortly after the arrest, District Judge Jay Winward signed an order prohibiting release on bail. The case is currently under review by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office and Ortega is currently being held without bail.

Deadliest Drug Threat

“Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, and Utah is no exception,” U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah said in a statement released in April.

Tuesday is National Fentanyl Awareness Day, an annual DEA effort to educate the public about the serious dangers of fentanyl poisoning from counterfeit pills and other illegal drugs.

According to the DEA, fentanyl has saturated the drug market in Utah. It is cheaper, more effective and more widely available than ever before, and in recent years Utah has seen an increase in overdose/poisoning cases directly related to fentanyl.

In 2023, the DEA seized more than 79.5 million counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, representing more than 376 million lethal doses of the drug. So far this year, the DEA has seized 17.9 million fentanyl-laced pills and 1,813 pounds of fentanyl powder, representing nearly 94 million doses.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other respondents and may not contain the full extent of the findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or otherwise determined by a tribunal of experts.

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