Fentanyl bust could be one of Lancaster County’s largest

LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) – Authorities say they seized over two pounds of pure fentanyl with the arrests of three Philadelphia residents in Manheim Township.

The county’s drug task force also seized heroin, in 9,800 bundles ready for street sale, and detectives believe it will also test positive for fentanyl, the district attorney’s office said.

The task force had information that a major movement of heroin would be happening on the night of January 31 Detectives were waiting when two suspect vehicles pulled into a parking lot in the 1300 block of Lititz Pike, and they boxed in the vehicles with the help of a National Guard helicopter.

One of the drivers, 26-year-old Eric Moran, nearly struck detectives and civilians when he tried to flee the parking lot, the district attorney’s office said.

District Attorney Craig Stedman said If all the heroin/fentanyl was sold in street quantities, its value could have exceeded half a million dollars.

“There is no telling how many people could have been killed by the deadly poisons that are now in police custody rather than on the streets,” Stedman said in a news release. “This could be one of the biggest fentanyl seizures we’ve had in this county.”

Moran and his co-defendants, 32-year-old Luis C. Mercado and 27-year-old Katherine Joubert, are charged with possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy. All three are at Lancaster County Prison on $2 million bail each.