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Two Men Caught With 150,000 Fentanyl Pills Set Free By California Officials: REPORT

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Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
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California officials reportedly released two men arrested for possessing 150,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop on Friday.

A California court released two drug traffickers charged with possessing, transporting, and selling enough fentanyl to “kill millions of people,” reported Fox News.

The two men were arrested by the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office with 150 packages containing 1,000 fentanyl pills in each, reported the outlet. Officials said a fentanyl pill has a street value of $5 a pill, meaning investigators seized around $750,000 worth of fentanyl from the two drug traffickers, reported Fox News.

Fox reporter Bill Melugin reported on Twitter that Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux didn’t support the judge’s decision to release the two men. (RELATED: Border Agents Stop Driver Attempting To Smuggle Enough Fentanyl To Kill Around 2 Million People)

“The two men who were arrested with 150,000 fentanyl pills in Tulare, CA on Friday have been released from custody on their own recognizance as a result of a court order from a judge following a ‘risk assessment.’ The Sheriff ‘strongly disagrees’ with their release,” tweeted Melugin.

“We’ve learned that Tulare County Court Commissioner Mikki Verissimo signed the order to release the men,” Melugin added. “Sheriff Mike Boudreaux says on Fox News that ‘California’s system of justice is failing us all,’ and that when he found out about the release of the men, he was ‘infuriated,'” he tweeted.

Boudreaux told Fox News that he “strongly disagrees” with the Court order to release the drug traffickers due to the added “public safety concerns” and that his office was “forced to comply” with their release, Fox News reported.

“The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office received a court order to release both suspects from custody on their own recognizance. All inmates booked into Tulare County jails are sent through what is known as the Risk Assessment Process through the Tulare County Probation Department,” said The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office statement, reported Fox News. “That ‘Risk Assessment’ is then sent to a judge with the court, who, then, determines whether or not the individual arrested is held on bail or if they are to be released.”

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

UPDATE:

“California’s soft-on-crime legislation has led to this very thing. We need to take a hard look at holding these suspects accountable. This is a huge case that should have been valued and assessed for what it was. Instead, we have a danger to the public because these people were set free,” Boudreaux told the Daily Caller.

Boudreaux said that California’s roads I-5 and Highway 99 act as a “pipeline for millions of cars every day” that could be carrying fentanyl across the border from Mexico.

“Fentanyl, itself, is made in China and then processed in Mexico. Because our borders are wide open, these pills are easily transported through the pipeline up and down the state. To catch someone on that pipeline is a huge deal,” said Boudreaux. “And for those suspects to be released almost right away, it sends a message to the drug cartels that there is very little risk for great reward. If we’re sending the message that we’re not going to hold you accountable, we’re telling the cartels there are no repercussions for their actions.”

“We have to start sending the message that, when you commit a crime, no matter what level that is, you will be held accountable,” he added.