Police seize 44 pounds of fentanyl pills in Las Vegas-area casino parking lot

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Three men face drug-trafficking charges after police said they found hundreds of thousands of illicit fentanyl pills during a planned handoff in a casino parking lot, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Jesus Aguayo, David Estrada and Ulyses Lopez-Vazquez on a superseding indictment on charges of trafficking in a controlled substance, transporting a controlled substance and conspiracy to violate the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, documents said.

In August 2023, Henderson police became aware of a fentanyl shipment from Arizona to Henderson, documents said. Police then arrived at the site of the planned drug transaction, a casino parking lot, discovering a “large amount of fentanyl pills” in a trunk.

A count of the pills amounted to roughly 213,000 — or 44 pounds, documents said. Illicit fentanyl is 50-to-100 times more potent than morphine. Just one pill can kill a person.

Police said they located Aguayo, Estrada, and Lopez-Vazquez in the car, documents said. Detectives suspect the group was working out of Phoenix.

All three defendants posted $20,000 bail while their initial criminal cases were in Henderson Justice Court, records said.

An arraignment in district court was scheduled for May 15.

In 2023, 302 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl in Clark County — a 28% increase from 2022.

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