RUMFORD, Maine (KPEL News) - Police stopped a woman in Maine, only to discover she was carrying enough fentanyl in four times the population of the town she was in.

Rumford police pulled over a vehicle on Sunday and found drug paraphernalia in the car. However, they found no drugs. But when the K-9 drug dogs detected drugs around her groin area, that led to a search of one of the three subjects in the vehicle, Marianela Rodriguez.

Credit: DEA
Credit: DEA
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She and two others were arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in fentanyl. She was carrying roughly 47,000 milligrams of fentanyl in a body cavity. It takes only about two milligrams to be a fatal dose for a person, which means she was carrying enough to kill nearly 24,000 people.

Rumford, Maine, has a population of just under 6,000.

And if you're wondering about volume (for whatever reason), 47,000 milligrams is roughly nine and a half teaspoons.

Fentanyl Crisis Continues Across the Country

The flood of fentanyl in the country is the subject of law enforcement and politicians across the country, as a crisis surrounding the drug continues to grow.

In the U.S., illeglly produced fentanyl can be found coming from drug cartels in Mexico. The National Institutes of Health says the illicit form is often sold as a powder, dropped on blotter paper, or put in eye droppers or nasal sprays.

What's more, it can be made into pills that look like other drugs. Law enforcement agencies are also warning of the drug being mixed with other drugs, including prescription drugs and even marijuana.

In Acadiana, there have been several marijuana arrests.

Fighting Fentanyl: Important Arrests Made Across Acadiana in 2022

The fight against fentanyl is a daunting one as the highly potent drug continues to take lives every day across the country. From Lafayette to the surrounding areas, law enforcement agencies have their hands full as they fight to get fentanyl off their respective streets.

Let's take a look back at headline-catching cases involving fentanyl in 2022.

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