MAPLE HILL — Wabaunsee County authorities uncovered a large amount of drugs Wednesday in Maple Hill.
According to the Wabaunsee County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Max Joye and his K-9 partner Karma were alerted to the odor and presence of narcotics after coming across a driver with a suspended license during a traffic stop. The driver, who was not from the area, was arrested and the vehicle was impounded. Formal charges are pending.
After obtaining a search warrant, officers found two bags containing several hundred pills and 10 wrapped bundles. The pills are suspected to be fentanyl and the bundles were also suspected to be heroin or methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl. The estimated street value of these drugs were over $9 million.
Local authorities have been vigilant to remind the public of the dangers of fentanyl which has been the cause of many overdose deaths. Over 100 deaths occurred in Kansas last year. Two people from Manhattan died in March from fentanyl overdoses and one other person was hospitalized.
