A huge seizure of Fentanyl was described as "a weapon of mass destruction" by investigators in Ohio as three men were charged intent to distribute the deadly drug.

Special Agent Vance Callender said the 40lbs was “enough to kill the entire population" of the northern US state, "many times over."

His comments came after Shamar Davis, 31, Anthony Franklin, 30, and Grady Jackson, 37, were with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office.

Special agents also s​eized 1,500 grams of a substance that they believed to be methamphetamine, 500 grams of heroin, three firearms and more than $30,000. The substances will be tested.

Fentanyl is 50-100 times more potent than morphine, and fentanyl overdose deaths increased by 47 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy Show all 5 1 /5 Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy reuters_1.jpg Reuters Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy afp-3.jpg AFP Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy afp_1.jpg AFP Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy afpgetty.jpg AFP/Getty Colombia faces $17bn laundry bill: Smuggling, drug trafficking and their profits are warping an entire economy afp 2.jpg AFP

Ohio has been particularly hurt by the opioid epidemic which the Council of Economic Advisers estimates cost the US government more than $2.5 trillion in lost GDP between 2015-2018.

The state had the second highest rate of opioid deaths in the US in 2017.

A recent report by the RAND Corporation found that while fentanyl didn’t necessarily correlate with an increase in drug users, it does correlate with a higher number of deaths.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

As few as two to three milligrams can cause an overdose.