Mexican native caught in MD with enough fentanyl to kill 780K people

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Breakdown of Illegal Drugs Seized From Tractor Trailer:

•4,900 grams of heroin (four bricks)

•1,950 grams of fentanyl (one brick)

•3,790 grams of powder substance (two bricks)

According to data collected by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 2.5 milligrams of fentanyl is enough to cause a fatal overdose. In other words, the amount of fentanyl confiscated from the tractor trailer alone could have killed 780,000 people. D.C.'s current population is around 703,000.

Fentanyl is most prevalent in areas like D.C., Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and West Virginia. However, NIDA explains the drug is taking hold nationwide. Making matters worse, certain dealers have started to add fentanyl to cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and painkillers like Vicodin. That marketing ploy is generating more addicts, some unaware of precisely what they are ingesting.

In other cases, users develop a tolerance to heroin and upgrade to fentanyl. There have been reports of people seeking out dealers associated with fentanyl overdoses in hopes of securing the greatest high. The pull is that strong.

According to court documents, Popovich is married and has two children. He has owned his trucking company, Popovich Transport, for a little more than a decade. A phone number listed in court paperwork for Popovich has been disconnected.

Popovich is currently being held without bond in Montgomery County. He faces more than 90 years in prison, though he could likely broker a lucrative deal by sharing intel about the hierarchy of the fentanyl/heroin totem pole.

Maryland State Police declined to comment about the ongoing narcotics investigation.