Man charged after deputies find thousands of fentanyl pills
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Law enforcement officials arrested a man on Wednesday after they executed a warrant which turned up fentanyl, cocaine, and three guns.
The man, Denzel Meeks, was charged in Hennepin County with first-degree sale of fentanyl, second-degree sale of cocaine, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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The Southwest Hennepin and West Metro Drug Task Forces executed the warrant. They seized 870 grams of powder fentanyl, 4,500 counterfeit pills that tested positive for fentanyl, and 13 grams of cocaine. They also found over $82,000 in suspected drug proceeds.
Two of the three handguns were modified with a "switch," which is used to convert a semi-automatic gun into a fully automatic one.
MORE: Minnesota's fentanyl crisis: The families left behind
In Hennepin County alone, fentanyl takes the life of one person every day, according to Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
"This is an unbelievable large problem right now. For the sheriff's office alone, seizing enough fentanyl in the first six months of this year to potentially kill every person in Hennepin County, and that's just one agency," Witt said.
To help combat the crisis, the sheriff's office has become the first in the state to offer naloxone training to the community.
Note: The above video first aired on Oct. 10, 2023