City News, PUBLIC SAFETY

Police seize 55,000 fentanyl pills, dozens of pounds of other drugs from 2 Salem residents

Salem residents await federal drug trafficking charges after police seized 26 guns and dozens of pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl pills and heroin.

Detectives with the Salem Police Department arrested Leonel Covarrubias Hernandez, 45, and Silvia Rodriguez Diaz, 50, during a traffic stop on Tuesday.

Their arrests followed a months-long investigation into trafficking of narcotics and guns as well as illegal manufacturing of firearms, according to a department statement.

Detectives found two loaded handguns, plastic bags containing fentanyl pills and cash. Police also got a search warrant and seized more drugs and guns from Hernandez and Diaz’ home in the 2700 block of Southeast High Street.

Salem police in total seized 29.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 15.1 pounds of cocaine, 12.3 pounds of fentanyl pills (about 55,000 pills) and 2.4 pounds of heroin, totaling nearly $700,000 in street value, the department said. Police also seized 26 firearms, $63,274 cash and one 3D printer.

Hernandez and Diaz were booked into Multnomah County Jail, where they were being held without bail on a U.S. Marshals hold as of Thursday morning, the jail’s roster showed.

The investigation came through Salem police’s partnership with the Safe Streets Task Force, a program that joins the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Oregon. 

The task force this year has seized more than 125,000 fentanyl-laced tablets and 1.5 pounds fentanyl powder, nearly 140 pounds of methamphetamine, 17 pounds of cocaine, about 4 pounds of heroin and 172 firearms through its investigations in the Salem area.

\“Preventing illicit drugs from spreading in our city and illegal firearms from fueling violence is a top priority,” Chief Trevor Womack said in the department’s statement. “Yesterday’s arrest is an example of the incredible work being done by our detectives through the Safe Streets Project which can only be accomplished thanks to our federal partners.”

The drugs seized by Salem police on Tuesday totaled nearly $700,000 in street value, according to the agency. (Salem Police Department photo)

Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.

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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.