Washakie County Sheriff Austin Brookwell shared the details of a significant drug bust conducted by the Washakie County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Greybull & Worland Police Departments.
“We removed 307 blue fentanyl pills from the streets of Washakie County,” Sheriff Brookwell said on the departments’ Facebook page. “This had the potential to cause 307 overdose deaths.”
On June 3, Washakie County Deputies were looking for a gray Ford Mustang that was possibly being driven by an individual with an active warrant for their arrest. A deputy was able to locate the vehicle at the Cenex gas station in Worland. The deputy witnessed one individual exit the driver’s position and enter Cenex.
The deputy was going to follow the individual inside when they looked into the Mustang and saw a second individual in the passenger seat – the person with the active warrant. While the deputy searched the individual, they found a pen tube containing brown residue.
While dealing with the individual in the car, the individual who went inside the gas station left out a side door. A short time later, an officer with the Worland Police Department located an individual by Big Horn Redi-Mix matching the description of the individual.
The officer identified the individual, who also had an active warrant for their arrest. Both individuals were taken to the Washakie County Detention Center.
Deputies contacted Greybull Police Department to ask for a K-9 unit. When the Greybull P.D. K-9 arrived on the scene and conducted a sniff of the exterior of the vehicle, the K-9 alerted on the rear side of the driver’s side n. The car was then transported by Washakie Garage to the Law Enforcement Center.
Once a warrant was obtained, deputies began to search the vehicle. Inside, deputies discovered two blue pills (suspected to be fentanyl), digital scales, and other types of suspected illegal substances.
On June 4, a deputy was contacted by an employee at Cenex said they had CCTV footage of the individual who entered their store, removed something from their pocket, and entered one of the showers. A deputy went to the gas station and discovered two bags in the shower area. One bag contained several small blue pills, the other a white crystal-type substance suspected to be methamphetamine.
Once weighed and counted, there were 305 blue pills (suspected to be fentanyl) weighig 33 grams, and one gram of suspected methamphetamine.
Deputies forwarded affidavits to the Washakie County Attorney’s office for charges to be filed. Both individuals are innocent until proven guilty.
“This was awesome work by multiple agencies,” Sheriff Brookwell said in his report on the incident. “I want to thank Greybull P.D. for sending over their K-9. I want to thank the Worland PD Officer and my deputies for following through with their suspicions and developing a great case against these individuals.
