KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 21-year-old man faces drug charges in Clay County after a fentanyl seizure last week.
Josiah J. Langston is charged with two counts of first-degree drug trafficking and one count of resisting arrest.
Langston was arrested Thursday afternoon in the 3900 block of N. Skiles Avenue.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said authorities were looking for Langston due to a prior warrant for drug trafficking.
Surveillance efforts led authorities to Langston's location, where he was observed driving a vehicle in a parking lot, parking and walking over to enter his car.
As he was about to leave, deputies pulled in front of and behind Langston.
In an attempt to flee, Langston backed up into one of the patrol cars. However, others were able to remove him from the vehicle and take him into custody "without
further incident."
As he was being apprehended, deputies questioned the suspected fentanyl. He responded by claiming he was a user.
After a search warrant of Langston's vehicle was obtained, authorities recovered 1.5 pounds of powdered fentanyl, 0.4 pounds of methamphetamine, a digital scale, empty plastic bags, an Apple AirTag, $2,000 in cash and several cell phones, per the sheriff's office.
A probable cause statement claims the street value of the methamphetamine totaled approximately $3,000 and the fentanyl was roughly worth $100,000.
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“Just two milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose, meaning the amount of fentanyl seized could have killed nearly two-thirds of the population of Kansas City, Missouri,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Langston is being held in the Clay County Detention Center on a $450,000 bond. He is due in court Tuesday, Aug. 27, for a bond reduction hearing.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force and Special Operations Squad were assisted by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration in the arrest and investigation of this case.
Additional charges, possibly federal, could be forthcoming, per the sheriff's office.
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