Fentanyl found inside hollowed-out battery, Smith County sheriff says

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith gave additional details regarding a traffic stop that led to the seizure of nine pounds of fentanyl.

Smith said a K-9 deputy made the traffic stop on Interstate 20 Friday evening after observing a white van with Mexico license plates changing lanes several times without properly signaling the lane changes.

After speaking with the driver, identified as Erik Marin Islas Angeles, of Mexico, consent was given for the deputy to search the vehicle who subsequently discovered a car battery inside of a DeWalt Job Box. The deputy said the battery appeared to have been hollowed out and was not of the normal weight for a car battery. The deputy also reported that Angeles had three cell phones which kept ringing during the stop.

The deputy said they then found a large package wrapped in black and clear package inside the battery with a field weight of 9 pounds. The package allegedly contained a large amount of blue, round pills, one side of which had the imprint of “M” on it. Sheriff Smith said the deputy knew “from previous experience” that these pills are known to contain fentanyl.

Angeles was being held at the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on a $2 million bond subsequent to an arrest warrant being issued by 114th State District Judge Austin Reeve Jackson. Angeles has since been remanded into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

”I am proud of the interagency cooperation between in this multiagency task force. I am also proud of our Narcotics Unit who in short notice responded to this incident. This influx of deadly fentanyl into our state and communities has to be stopped,” said Sheriff Smith.

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