Traffic stop near Salem leads to massive fentanyl bust in Bellingham, WA

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- In a recent bust, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office said they obtained enough fentanyl to kill the entire population of Bellingham, WA.

According to the sheriff's office, in August they received information about a large drug distribution network running out of a homeless encampment in Bellingham.

Detectives, who said they were familiar with the encampment due to rampant crime in the area, conducted surveillance and said they saw open drug trades and usage in the encampment.

At the end of August, Oregon State Police pulled over a suspect, identified as Rigoberto Vasquez Martinez, 34, during a routine traffic stop near Salem where troopers said they uncovered 70,000 suspect fentanyl-laced pills as well as about $2,000.

The same day, authorities in Washington said they executed a warrant on a storage locker used by Vasquez Martinez where they discovered 3,000 grams of suspect fentanyl powder, 500 grams of suspect fentanyl-laced pills, 1000 grams of suspected heroin, 300 grams of suspected meth, a handgun and $46,000.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, two milligrams is considered a potentially lethal dose and the total amount of suspected fentanyl retrieved is "enough to potentially kill the entire population of Bellingham, conservatively."

A few days later, another warrant was executed on Vasquez Martinez's compound in the Bellingham homeless camp and detectives said they found four more firearms, a small amount of suspected fentanyl powder, suspected drug packaging material and paraphernalia and $5,876.

Detectives also said they recovered 13 dogs, 11 of which were puppies, who were taken to the Whatcom Humane Society.