Cleveland's drug trafficking scene faced a major disruption earlier this month when the First District VICE Unit put a man in handcuffs and took a substantial amount of drugs off the streets. The Cleveland Division of Police's social media post detailed that on March 3, the unit acted on a search warrant out of Cuyahoga County, which led to the arrest and seizure of a raft of illicit substances and related paraphernalia.

In what reads as a significant haul for local law enforcement, over 1000 grams of fentanyl and over 250 grams of crack cocaine were found during the warranted search. The property also yielded a variety of packaging materials and tools used for manufacturing drugs, and the police seized $5,000 in cash, which is alleged to be proceeds from drug sales. The bust sheds light on the ongoing battle against drug distribution networks within the city.

The arrest and seizure in Cleveland signifies another attempt to curb the fentanyl crisis that continues to grip not just Ohio but the nation. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, has been the driving force behind a surge in overdose deaths, according to the CDC, with its presence alarmingly widespread in the current street drug supply.