SMPD seizes almost $50,000 worth of fentanyl, cocaine

Local police seized almost $50,000 worth of fentanyl and cocaine from a Mid-City home Tuesday.

The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) served a search warrant for a residence near the intersection of 11th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard and recovered nine ounces of fentanyl, about 2 and ½ ounces of cocaine and more than $12,000 in cash. Officers arrested Shane Michael Spring, 36, and Sasha Carillo, 33, both from Santa Monica, for possessing and selling narcotics.

The fentanyl and cocaine have a street value of $40,000 and $7,000, respectively.

Lt. Saul Rodriguez said SMPD’s narcotics unit received information that Spring and Carillo were selling fentanyl in Santa Monica. He said he is unable to reveal where in the city they were selling the drug and it is currently unknown if they are connected to other narcotics investigations.

Rodriguez said SMPD is encountering fentanyl more frequently. The drug was unheard of in the city when he was involved in the narcotics unit in 2015, he said. In the past few years, the synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but up to 100 times more potent has become the leading cause of overdose deaths nationwide.

“It’s a very dangerous and very potent narcotic,” he said. “It’s highly lethal and even dangerous to the touch.”

Detectives will be presenting the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration. Anyone with information related to narcotic activity in the City of Santa Monica is encouraged to call the anonymous Narcotics Tip Line at (310) 458-2292 or SMPD at (310) 458-8491.

madeleine@smdp.com