Drug Stash Of 975K Lethal Doses Worth $1M Seized In MD

ROCKVILLE, MD — A California man stopped for speeding on a Maryland interstate is accused of hauling a duffel bag full of illicit drugs with enough fentanyl to kill 975,000 people, a stash that authorities estimate is worth about a million dollars.

Marco Popovich, 41, of San Diego, was pulled over on July 23, 2018 around 2:30 a.m. on I-270 in Rockville for driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Charging documents say the trooper noticed several verbal and nonverbal "signs of distress" he identified as "criminal indicators." A police dog later arrived and alerted the cops to the presence of a controlled substance.

Police searched Popovich's trailer and found a duffel bag full of drugs. Inside it had 10.8 pounds of heroin, 4.3 pounds of fentanyl 8.3 and pounds of an "unknown white powder substance," charging documents say. He was arrested and is being held without bond, Kevin Lewis reported for ABC7.

DEA Special Agent Susan Wolf told Patch heroin is worth about $55,000 to $60,000 per pound. Fentanyl's street value is harder to pinpoint, she said, but estimated it at around $60 to $90 per gram.

Popovich faces two counts each of:

• importing a controlled substance into state
• possession with intent to distribute a narcotic controlled substance (one for fentanyl, one for heroin)
• possession of a large amount of a controlled substance
• possession of a controlled substance - not marijuana (one for fentanyl, one for heroin)

A Growing Epidemic Hits Record Numbers
Overall, Maryland had 2,089 overdose deaths in 2016 compared with 2,280 such deaths in 2017; and in the first three months of 2018 a total of 653 Maryland residents died from overdose.

Fentanyl is extremely deadly. A report said that at just over 4 pounds, the fentanyl police found in Popovich's trailer was enough to kill roughly 780,000 people.

This is what two milligrams of fentanyl, a lethal dose, looks like next to a penny:

(Editor's note: the charging documents say the incident happened on July 23, 2017, however the District Court of Maryland website says the correct date of July 23, 2018.)

Popovich is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 24 in Rockville.

Citing the integrity of this ongoing investigation and the safety of those working it, the Maryland State Police declined to comment.

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Article image Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images