Suspected fentanyl stash found in convenience store ice cream freezer, SC cops say

A stash of suspected fentanyl -- a synthetic opioid -- was found in the bowels of a convenience store ice cream freezer June 14 in South Carolina, reports radio station WTMA and other news outlets.

Police suspect the freezer at the Circle K on North Main in Summerville may have been used as a makeshift hiding place for the narcotics, the station reports. Summerville is about 25 miles northwest of Charleston.

The “possible drugs” are being analyzed by state officials to confirm the police department’s assumption, WCIV reported.

Fentanyl, which is frequently blamed for overdose deaths, is “80-100 times stronger than morphine” and dealers are known to mix it with “heroin to increase its potency,” according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Investigators say someone was “doing routine maintenance” on the freezer Friday and stumbled onto “seven pieces of aluminum foil containing an unknown substance” at the bottom, WCIV reported. Police were called and an officer opened one of the foils to find “a dirty white square,” the station said.

Illegally sold fentanyl is often “off-white or tan in color,” according to Therecoveryvillage.com.

The vendor credited with finding the suspected narcotics told police “it is not the first time this has happened,” the Summerville Journal Scene reported.

“The vendor told the officer during jobs, he finds drugs at the bottom of freezers all the time, saying ‘it is common,’” according to the Journal Scene.

This story was originally published June 21, 2019 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Suspected fentanyl stash found in convenience store ice cream freezer, SC cops say."