Citrus Heights police detectives seized 13.2 pounds of fentanyl and 3.2 pounds of cocaine after wrapping up an investigation into narcotics trafficking, a haul officials say represents roughly 3 million potentially lethal doses based on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s benchmark of 2 milligrams. Detectives also recovered $50,000 in cash and a firearm during searches of a suspect’s home and a storage unit in Sacramento County, and the suspect was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on numerous felony narcotics charges.
The Citrus Heights Police Department announced that detectives had concluded an investigation into the trafficking and sale of fentanyl and other narcotics, according to the Sacramento Bee. Police said they had identified a suspect distributing large quantities of drugs throughout Citrus Heights and surrounding jurisdictions, though the department has not released the suspect’s name. The searches, carried out at both a residence and a commercial storage unit, point to a distribution operation that reached beyond city limits, per the Sacramento Bee’s reporting from journalist Rosalio Ahumada.
The bust was the work of the department’s IMPACT Unit — short for Investigative Mobile Prevention and Community Outreach Team — a specialized division trained in problem-oriented policing, street-level narcotics enforcement and fugitive apprehension, according to the City of Citrus Heights. The unit focuses on long-term abatement of public safety threats rather than one-off arrests, and it has been busy: Police Chief Alex Turcotte reported in an April public safety presentation that the IMPACT Unit executed 89 search warrants in 2025 alone, contributing to a 6% overall drop in city crime, per the Citrus Heights Sentinel.
How Small a Dose Can Kill
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be fatal in small amounts, and the DEA has said it can be lethal at doses as small as 2 milligrams depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past drug use, the Sacramento Bee reported. The drug is sold as pills, powder and vape pens, and authorities said online dealers sometimes claim their fentanyl pills are actually Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. The DEA has also said drug dealers mix fentanyl with heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, a practice that has made accidental overdoses more common and harder to predict…