OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) — As the Opelousas City Marshal’s Office continues their push to increase patrol, their efforts have now led to the discovery of fentanyl inside of an elementary school zone.

“It was roughly over half of an ounce,” Assistant Opelousas City Marshal Louis Armstrong said. “There were some fall packets, and it looks like they put some very small amounts in those fall packets which we suspect they intended to sell.”

Armstrong said the arrest began as a traffic stop, and then officers found out the individuals in the car had outstanding court warrants.

Police were then warned by those in the vehicle that fentanyl was inside and should be handled properly.

Armstrong said that discovery was even more alarming as it took place in a school zone, and the amount of fentanyl found could put everyone in danger.

“Scientists have said that 700 micro-grams of fentanyl can have an extreme risk of death,” Armstrong said. “So even a small amount is very deadly, that amount that we seized very much could have killed a large group of people.”

News 10 spoke to the marshal’s office in June when Marshal Paul Mounton said he hopes to see the results from patrol lead to additional funding.

With the results such as this fentanyl arrest, Armstrong said they’re fortunate to have received additional funding working with state representative Dustin Miller to make necessary upgrades and continue the fight.

“We’re going to be getting a computer aided dispatch system to better facilitate our report writing, as well as our overall dispatch capabilities,” Armstrong said. “We’re also going to buy additional patrol units so we can further expand our CIU unit and get more deputies on the street.”