By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News 

A run stop sign led to the seizure of ‘counterfeit’ fentanyl pills in Emery County. This stop also led to the arrest of one individual who has been booked into Emery County Jail on several felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the search.

“A Deputy with the Emery County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) noticed a vehicle run a stop sign at State Road 155 and State Road 10 near the Huntington North Reservoir,” reads a statement from Emery County Sheriff Tyson Huntington. “After initiating a traffic stop, Sergeant Cologie and Deputy Smith, accompanied by his K-9 partner Dak, arrived on the scene. Deputy Smith had Dak perform a free-air sniff around the vehicle. Dak gave a positive indication, alerting the deputies to the presence of illegal substances.”

Performing a search on the vehicle, Deputies located items of drug paraphernalia, marijuana, methamphetamine and fentanyl pills.

Continued Huntington,” These blue pills, imprinted with an ‘M,’ are often marketed as Oxycodone Hydrochloride 30mg. However, they are a mix of fentanyl and other substances. Fentanyl is much cheaper to obtain than pharmaceutical Oxycodone, which allows drug dealers to create these counterfeit pills and sell them at a higher profit.”

The Sheriff added that due to the presence of fentanyl, the bust was “significant.”

“I would personally like to thank the ECSO Deputies and the UHP Trooper involved in this incident. Thank you for going beyond a “normal” traffic stop. Your efforts may have very well saved a life or two,” closed Huntington.

This seizure adds to the growing trend in Utah of Fentanyl seizures. In 2024, the state launched its fentanyl task force, which has led to an increase in law enforcement seizures of the drug. This task force aims to address the Fentanyl crisis by addressing gaps in prevention, treatment and law enforcement efforts.