12 arrested, 240+ grams of fentanyl seized in downtown Portland bust
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Twelve people were arrested Saturday as part of a mission led by Oregon State Police and the Portland Police Bureau targeting drug dealers in downtown Portland, authorities announced.
Of the 12 people arrested, 10 face charges for distributing fentanyl, according to Oregon State Police, noting law enforcement seized more than 240 grams of powdered fentanyl, 2.6 grams of meth, a gun, and over $2,000.
Officials said the mission was part of an ongoing effort between the two law enforcement agencies to disrupt fentanyl use and distribution in the city.
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Some of the arrested suspects face charges for outstanding warrants, felon in possession of a firearm, attempted escape, and giving false information, according to police.
The mission included PPB’s Central Bike Squad, OSP’s Drug Enforcement Section, and Mobile Response Team, which has been deployed in downtown Portland since October 2023, officials said.
Since then, the team has completed over 40 missions, six of which involved drug dealing, OSP said.
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“What we’re aiming to do is make an effort to those who are distributing [drugs] at the street level to deter that sort of behavior so that those business owners, pedestrians, and patrons just heading into the downtown area can feel free, safe, and secure to move about in those spaces without coming across a fentanyl dealer, or fentanyl paraphernalia, or fentanyl in general,” OSP Captain Kyle Kennedy told KOIN 6 News.
Citing data from the Oregon Health Authority and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorities said fentanyl has surpassed meth as the leading cause of overdose deaths in Oregon.
With the pervasiveness of fentanyl, Captain Kennedy said “the hardest challenge is finding a meaningful way to seek a resolution to the problem. So that means connecting those who are suffering addiction with the appropriate services, that means following up with meaningful prosecution, and finding a way to deter the behavior so that it’s not happening.”
“We’ve always worked with PPB,” Kennedy added. “This is just a new dynamic in the relationship. I would say, given the monumental task that they were facing and working in downtown Portland with the fentanyl crisis, to come in and partner together has been needed, it has worked well, it’s provided information for PPB to move forward on, it’s provided information for the Oregon State Police, our partners, to move forward with, it’s also streamlined and made addiction services and outreach programs more efficient.”
These missions come as seven out of every 10 pills seized by law enforcement contain a potentially fatal dose (about two milligrams) of fentanyl, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency.
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