Bloomington police seize 24 pounds of fentanyl pills

Bloomington police say they seized 24 pounds of the painkiller fentanyl from a man at a hotel in the city, in what they say is one of the largest fentanyl seizures in Minnesota.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 36-year-old Marcus Trice with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said Thursday that the investigation started when officers responded Aug. 31 to a credit card fraud call at a hotel, with a man reportedly using another person's identity to try to pay for a room.

Hodges said police found nearly 109,000 doses of fentanyl in Trice's luggage. Police said the seizure comes amid an increase in opioid overdoses in Bloomington and across the country.

"This is enough pills to give every person in the city of Bloomington one, everybody staying in the hotels, and still some left over for the people in Richfield and Edina," Hodges said.

Trice has not entered a plea. A magistrate judge on Tuesday ordered that he remain jailed as the case moves forward.

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