BELLEVUE, Wash. — It was rush hour along I-90 near Snoqualmie on Aug. 4, when Trooper Brad Olsen saw a driver who appeared to be in a bit too much of a rush.
The driver was following the car in front of her too closely, so Olsen pulled her over.
He knew immediately something wasn't right.
"Trooper Olsen noticed that this driver was extremely nervous," said WSP spokesman Rick Johnson. "He asked for consent to search the vehicle. That was granted. Behind the driver's seat, he found a lunch bag."
Inside that lunch bag was 10 pounds of the deadly narcotic fentanyl worth nearly $6.5 million.
Alongside it, two more pounds of heroin with a street value of $75,000.
"It's few and far between when we get that much of that substance or any substance," said Johnson. "We're obviously thrilled it's off the streets now."
This is the second multi-million-dollar fentanyl bust in three weeks.
Last month, the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force made a record-setting drug seizure when investigators discovered at least $14 million of fentanyl in a Lynnwood home.
Officials say that's enough to kill about 700,000 people.
Fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and is fueling a deadly opioid epidemic across America.
Johnson said the quick thinking of Olsen almost certainly saved lives.
"These individuals who are dying from this aren't going to test the product before they ingest it. Such a small amount can do you harm, if not kill you."
Olsen is a veteran of more than 20 years in law enforcement. He happened to be training a young cadet during that traffic stop.
Johnson said that sort of experience is invaluable.
"It's a great experience for him to watch a trooper of 20 plus years and see the different indicators that this person was possibly up to something else other than just following too close."