A speeding stop on Interstate 65 in Columbus, Indiana, on Wednesday night ended with two people in custody and police saying they found almost a pound of methamphetamine and 27 grams of fentanyl inside the vehicle — a quantity of fentanyl that, on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's own guidance, could in theory represent thousands of potentially lethal doses.
Source: WKKG 101.5, Columbus
According to the Columbus Police Department, officers stopped an SUV for speeding near the Walesboro exit at about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28. Walesboro is on the south side of Columbus, in Bartholomew County, along the stretch of I-65 that links Indianapolis with Louisville, Kentucky — one of the busiest north-south freight corridors in the Midwest.
A police dog, a search, and a package at the passenger's feet
During the stop, Columbus Police Dog Titus alerted to the smell of drugs in the vehicle, police said. The driver and passenger were removed from the SUV and a search uncovered marijuana inside. Officers also noticed a small package near the feet of the passenger, 37-year-old Sylvia Flowers, which they believe she was trying to dispose of.
When the package was opened, officers say it contained almost a pound of methamphetamine along with 27 grams of fentanyl. Flowers and the driver, 49-year-old Benjamin Bracewell, were both taken into custody. Police said both are from Norman. The search did not end at the roadside: at the jail, police say, more marijuana and methamphetamine were found in Flowers' clothing.
The charges — and what 'preliminary' means
Bracewell and Flowers are facing preliminary felony charges of dealing in a narcotic drug and dealing methamphetamine, the Columbus Police Department said. In Indiana, 'preliminary' charges are the counts police book a suspect on; the county prosecutor then reviews the evidence and decides the formal charges that are actually filed in court. Both are allegations at this stage — neither has been convicted of anything in this case, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Source: WIN 104.9, Columbus
Why 27 grams of fentanyl matters
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid so potent that the DEA warns as little as 2 milligrams — a few grains — can be a potentially lethal dose, depending on a person's body and tolerance. That is why even a 27-gram seizure draws attention far beyond its weight: fentanyl is the drug most often mixed into counterfeit pills and other street drugs, and it is the main driver of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Methamphetamine, the other drug police say they found, remains one of the most commonly seized stimulants on Midwestern highways.
I-65: a corridor our readers drive every day
Interstate 65 is a working road for this site's readers: Punjabi and other long-haul truckers run it daily between Indianapolis, Louisville and points south, and the Columbus-Walesboro stretch is a regular part of that run. Speeding stops that turn into K9 searches are a routine enforcement tool on this corridor, and Indiana police regularly report drug seizures from I-65 traffic stops. Nothing in the police account suggests any truck or commercial vehicle was involved in this stop — the vehicle was a passenger SUV.
The Bartholomew County prosecutor will decide the formal charges after reviewing the police evidence, and both suspects are expected to appear in court in Columbus. Police have not said where the pair were travelling from or to, have announced no other arrests in connection with the stop, and the drugs described by officers will need laboratory confirmation as the case proceeds.
The Columbus Police Department released evidence and booking photographs from the October 28 arrests on Friday, October 30. Awaaz Punjab is reporting the names and charges exactly as police released them, as allegations: dealing in a narcotic drug and dealing methamphetamine, both as preliminary felony charges.