Over $22K Worth Of Fentanyl Recovered, Man Arrested: Stamford Police

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford police said they recovered over $22,000 worth of fentanyl and arrested a 41-year-old man following a several-week investigation into possible drug sales throughout the city.

Devon Strong, who goes by the nickname "Pook," was arrested on the afternoon of Dec. 30, 2023, outside of his Hope Street home, according to Assistant Stamford Police Chief Richard Conklin.

Strong was charged with possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell greater than an ounce and operating a drug factory. He was issued a bond of $100,000 and is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on Jan. 12, Conklin said.

The Stamford Police Department's Narcotics & Organized Crime Squad, with help from the department's patrol division, surveilled Strong's residence in the 400 block of Hope Street on Dec. 30 and moved in to arrest him after he arrived home around 1 p.m., Conklin said.

As police moved in, Conklin said, Strong dropped a shopping bag on the ground that he had taken out of the trunk of his car. In the bag, police found 1,100 "folds" of fentanyl worth approximately $22,000.

A search warrant on Strong's home found 3.7 grams of crack cocaine, an additional five folds of fentanyl, $2,474 in cash, packaging materials and scales, Conklin said.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that can be used as analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. It's approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.

"It's such a danger to our community. We've had a number of fatal overdoses and overdoses. We actually have an overdose response unit that responds to these and helps out families and users," Conklin said. "One of the problems with fentanyl is it's infiltrating so many other drugs."

Many drugs can be laced with fentanyl, Conklin said, and pills marketed as Percocet or oxycodone can have fentanyl in them, too.

Conklin praised investigators for their work on the case and mentioned several strategies the SPD is undertaking to prevent fentanyl from impacting the community.

Along with enforcement, the SPD is working with local rehabilitation groups to get people who might be impacted by fentanyl the help they need, Conklin said. Police are also working to educate younger people to stop them from getting involved with drugs in the first place.

"We're working on a multi-pronged type of response to try and contend with this threat to the community," Conklin added.