Authorities in Ohio have seized such a large quantity of fentanyl they have referred to it as “chemical warfare” and compared to a “weapon of mass destruction.”

Authorities in Ohio have seized such a large quantity of fentanyl they have referred to it as “chemical warfare” and compared to a “weapon of mass destruction.”

According to a joint statement released by Ohio’s Regional Agencies Narcotics & Gun Enforcement Task Force, during the week of October 21, the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Ohio Attorney General’s office conducted an operation in Montgomery County, which resulted in the seizure of more than 44 pounds of suspected fentanyl, 3 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and 1 pound of suspected heroin.

“The quantity of fentanyl in this case amounts to chemical warfare and a weapon of mass destruction,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in the statement.

Authorities also seized three firearms and more than $30,000 in U.S. currency during the raid.

Vance Callender, Homeland Security investigations special agent for Michigan and Ohio said the seizure was “significant,” and that the amount recovered was “enough to kill the entire population of Ohio, many times over.”

According to the statement, as a result of the operation, 31 year old Shamar Davis, 30 year old Anthony Franklin and 37 year old Grady Jackson, all of Dayton, Ohio were arrested and are facing a charge of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

Joseph M. Deters, acting special agent for the FBI’s Cincinnati division said the seizure points to the “enormity of the opioid problem in this area.”

“Law enforcement will continue to work aggressively to address the illegal drug supply, but there is also a continuing need to address the demand as well,” he said.

According the U.S.’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. It is prescribed in the form of transdermal patches or lozenges. However, most recent cases of fentanyl-related harm, overdose, and death in the U.S. are linked to illegally made fentanyl.

“It is sold through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect,” the CDC website reads. “It is often mixed with heroin and/or cocaine as a combination product, with or without the user’s knowledge, to increase its euphoric effects.”

Roughly 28,400 people died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids other than methadone in 2017. In a Facebook post on October 28, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, the coroner for Ohio’s Franklin County, said just last week there had been “yet another surge in overdose deaths in Franklin county.”

“For a 24 hour period ending this morning we saw eight people die of overdoses,” she said.

With the emergence of the fentanyl epidemic, reports such as this have become more common everyday. It really makes you wonder, is this all a natural bi-product of the drug trade? Or is this actually deliberate chemical warfare?