Fort Worth Police have arrested two men in an undercover drug sting last week.
Melvin Ladrelle Kellough and Atomic Dianthony Greene were arrested by Fort Worth SWAT officers Thursday, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Fort Worth police seized 28,000 fentanyl pills, 10 guns, and more than $100,000 in cash in an undercover drug buy last week, according to law enforcement authorities.
Police worked with an informant who admitted to buying large quantities of the popular and deadly drug fentanyl from Kellough for several months.
The informant agreed to buy 25,000 pills of fentanyl from Kellough while under constant police surveillance, according to the complaint.
SWAT officers arrested Kellough while he was trying to make the delivery and reportedly found a loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun in his waistband, police said.
Officers arrested Greene, who was reportedly sitting in the passenger side of Kellough’s vehicle allegedly with a loaded rifle and a 9mm pistol on the floorboard in the car, police said.
The two men were found to have more than $3000 in cash, according to police.
Police later searched Kellough’s apartment located on Terra Brook Street, reportedly finding about 3,000 fentanyl pills, 29 pounds of marijuana, seven guns, and $100,871 in cash.
Both Kellough and Greene are being held on federal charges of conspiracy to possess fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine and is a major contributor to fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice.
Rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl increased by more than 56% from 2019 to 2020, according to the CDC.
In 2021, a record number of Americans, 107,622, died from drug poisoning or overdose. Of those deaths, 71,238 were related to synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, according to data released by the CDC.
In September, the DEA announced the results of the enforcement surge to reduce the fentanyl supply across the United States in a news release.
In September 2021, the DEA launched the One Pill Can Kill enforcement effort and public awareness campaign to combat the selling of fake pills and educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl pills being disguised and sold as prescription medications.
Additional resources for parents and the community can be found on the DEA’s Fentanyl Awareness page.
The Dallas Express has reached out to the Fort Worth Police Department for additional information and comment but has received none at this time.