It is unclear who sent it or just who it was going to, but the good news for Middle Tennesseans is that a packet carfentanil, legally used as a tranquilizer for elephants, mailed to this area has been intercepted by MNPD narcotics detectives and U.S. postal inspectors.

Acting on a tip that carfentanil was concealed in a seemingly legitimate parcel, detectives and agents took it out of circulation in Nashville and executed a search warrant. Inside was a packet containing 140 milligrams of carfentanil, enough for thousands of lethal human doses. Carfentanil is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and is commonly illegally used as a cutting agent in heroin. The substance is responsible for numerous overdose deaths throughout the United States, as it acts as a respiratory system depressant.

Fictitious information in the sender/recipient areas of the mailer has made it difficult at present to identify the persons involved, although it is known that the parcel originated in Florida.