Derby police say truck driver had 55 pounds of fentanyl in his cab

DERBY — Police announced Wednesday that a tractor-trailer was intercepted while traveling on Route 34 containing a shipment of fentanyl with a street value of about $1.5 million.

The packets of the drug — about 55 pounds in all — were found in the cab of the truck at about 11 a.m., police said.

The driver was identified as Erick Escalante, 47, of Arizona. Owing to the size of the find, Escalante was referred to the New Haven office of the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

He was arraigned later in federal court on charges of possession, intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess and sell the drug. He is being held without bond for the time being and his next court appearance will be on Jan. 4.

Fentanyl is classified as a synthetic opioid pain medication that’s estimated to be between 50 and 100 times as potent as morphine. The Centers for Disease Control said that in 2015, more than 9,500 people died from synthetic opioid deaths, and most of these were caused by fentanyl. This was a 73 percent jump over what was seen in 2014.