Deputies seize enough fentanyl to kill over 1 million people in Iredell County drug bust

STATESVILLE, N.C. – Deputies arrested a man in the United States illegally and seized enough fentanyl to kill over one million people in Iredell County on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators conducted a search at Marciano Pina Ulloa’s residence on Chapman Place Lane in Statesville after they believed he was in possession of a large amount of fentanyl.

In the search, deputies said they seized 2,117 grams of fentanyl and more than $1,000 in cash from Ulloa’s suspected drug sales.

It only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to be deadly. With 2,177 grams, that amount of fentanyl could have killed approximately 1,088,550 people, deputies said.

“This is an incredibly dangerous drug that is killing people at an alarming rate across our nation,” Sheriff Darren Campbell said. “The amount of fentanyl seized in this case is enough to kill over a million people. We see it in our community, and we have to continue being aggressive in targeting those poisoning our citizens.”

Ulloa, 44, is illegally in the United States, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been contacted to assist in this case.