On September 28, 2022, at about 10:11 P.M., an Oregon State Police Trooper stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation in Madras. During the course of the stop, reasonable suspicion was developed for drug trafficking. The drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics. A search of the vehicle revealed six (6) bundles concealed within the vehicle, with a gross weight of approximately 14.48 pounds. A preliminary test of the narcotics showed it was fentanyl powder.
The driver Jesus Villalpando Rubio (31) from Phoenix, Arizona, and the passenger Oscar Urias Haro (31) from Tucson, Arizona, were lodged in the Jefferson County Jail for various drug crimes.
This is an ongoing investigation with no further information being released.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl), one kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill about 500,000 people.
OSP Troopers were assisted during the investigation by Detectives from the OSP-Criminal Investigations Division-Drug Enforcement Section (Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative) and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The Oregon State Police-Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including the OSP-DHE Initiative.