State police report seizing large amounts of cocaine, fentanyl during 3rd quarter

State police continue to seize large amounts of cocaine and fentanyl in 2021.

Statistics provided by the agency show that troopers have confiscated 852 pounds of cocaine through Sept. 30, including 314 pounds of the drug valued at $6.9 million in the last three months. State police seized 175 pounds of fentanyl valued at $2.8 million between July and September, bringing the year’s total through Sept. 30 to 524 pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid, according to statistics.

The number of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine have increased nationally during recent years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2020 Drug Threat Assessment. Officials suspect fentanyl may be mixed in with the cocaine.

Locally, state police arrested two men on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Sept. 28 in Mt. Pleasant Township and accused them of transporting 3 kilograms, or about 6 1/2 pounds, of cocaine.

During the third quarter of 2021, troopers confiscated about $25 million worth of illicit drugs, according to the agency. In that time frame, 71 pounds of methamphetamines were seized, with a total of 600 pounds of the drug seized during the first nine months of 2021, police said.

That’s more than the 513 pounds of methamphetamine troopers confiscated during all of 2020 when drug commerce was affected for a time by the coronavirus pandemic. Methamphetamine use appears to be growing in parts of the country where it hasn’t been prevalent in the past, such as the Northeast, according to the DEA.

Other drug seizures during the third quarter of 2021 include: 10 pounds of heroin valued at $336,000, 1,570 pounds of processed marijuana valued at $4.7 million and nearly 164,000 prescription pills valued at $4.1 million.