Eugene police seize 11,000 fentanyl pills in largest ever raid in history of department

Police recovered roughly 11,000 pills of suspected fentanyl and other drugs Tuesday, in what the Eugene Police Department called the largest fentanyl raid in the history of the department.

Two were arrested and arraigned on charges including possession, manufacturing and child neglect, in one of the larger seizures in the history of Lane County, according to department spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin.

Several members of EPD's street crimes unit first heard in March about significant amounts of drugs and guns being held at a residence in the 2700 block of Royal Avenue, McLaughlin said in a news release Thursday.

After identifying the suspected involved residents as Joe Anthony Harker and Shayla Kay Lawray Bennett, police applied for and served a search warrant on the house, along with members of Oregon State Police, along with EPD's drone team, a SWAT team, and others.

Harker, who was not home, was taken into custody without incident after a traffic stop, McLaughlin said.

During the raid, the street crimes unit recovered more than six pounds of methamphetamine, more than a pound of heroin, approximately 11,000 suspected fentanyl pills McLaughlin said would be tested at a lab due to the dangers of fentanyl. They also recovered more than a pound of cocaine. It's estimated the seized drugs are worth $110,000 in street value, she said.

Some suspected stolen items were also seized including a gun and several loaded magazines for handguns, McLaughlin said.

Harker, 38, was arraigned Wednesday on charges for first-degree child neglect, unlawful meth and cocaine possession, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, and the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. Bennett, 27, was charged with child neglect and unlawful meth possession.

The child neglect charges were for Harker and Bennett allegedly allowing a child younger than 16 to stay in a home where controlled substances were being criminally delivered or manufactured for profit, according to court documents.

There was a significant uptick in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in May 2021, with many of the deaths linked to fake prescription drugs that were actually fentanyl. McLaughlin did not want to disclose how many deaths there were. There were 33 calls coded as overdoses in Eugene and Springfield through May 1-18 last year, and 15 calls that turned out to be an overdose that month.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Fentanyl pill seizure is largest ever in Eugene police history