Polk County deputies seize enough fentanyl to kill 2.7 million people

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Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his detectives recently seized more than 11 pounds of fentanyl.

That amounts to enough of the drug to kill 2.7 million people.

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Deputies said two kilos of the fentanyl were concealed in a Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal box, and another three kilos were concealed in a yellow Igloo cooler.

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The sheriff’s office said the investigation started in September 2022, when detectives received information that an international drug trafficking organization was trafficking multiple kilograms of fentanyl from Mexico to Bradenton, and then into Polk County.

As a result of the investigation, three men were arrested this month and are facing charges related to conspiracy to traffic in fentanyl: Ignacio Rodriguez, 28, of Bradenton; Mario Alberto Castro Solache, 29, of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Pedro Mondragon, 27, of Lillington, North Carolina.

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