Lawrence, Mass. -- An 11-year-old boy in Massachusetts called police last week after finding what he believed were illegal drugs in his father's luggage.

Police went to the boy's home in Lawrence and found over 200 grams of heroin and fentanyl mixed in five sandwich bags. The boy found the drugs when he was looking through his father's bags, according to the Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence.

Lawrence is located north of Boston, near the Massachusetts border with New Hampshire.

The boy also told police he saw his father selling drugs to someone at the home earlier in the day, the Eagle-Tribune said.

The boy and his 13-year-old cousin, who were both rummaging through the luggage, did not became sick, the paper said. Fentanyl is an especially powerful opioid painkiller that can be toxic to those who come into even slight contact with it.

Dealers have started mixing it with heroin frequently to create a strong and potentially deadly combination. Fentanyl has been linked to numerous overdoses.

The drugs the boy found are worth about $8,500 on the street, according to the Eagle-Tribune. Police also found a scale and a bag of sandwich bags commonly used by drug dealers for packaging in the luggage.

The father, 40-year-old Yamil Mercado, turned himself into police on Thursday, according to WCVB in Boston. The boy called authorities on Wednesday night.

The boy is now being cared for by his grandmother, WCVB said.

His father will face major drug trafficking charges, according to the Eagle-Tribune.

Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick praised the boy's courage.

"I commend this young man for being brave enough to come forward and report these dangerous substances were in his home," Fitzpatrick said, according to WCVB.

The father is also facing child endangerment charges, the station said.

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