Drug Enforcement Unit
Stephanie Lipe arrested in Fountain Inn
Drug Enforcement Unit
DEU investigators recovered approximately 22.1 pounds of methamphetamine concealed inside an igloo cooler and packaged in individual bags.
DEU investigators recovered approximately 22.1 pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators found the methamphetamine concealed inside an igloo cooler and packaged in individual bags.
Arrested was Stephanie Annette Lipe.
“I am extremely proud of the work put forth by both the men and women of our agency and the collaborating agencies working within the DEU for their tireless efforts to combat the drug trade in Greenville County,” Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said. “I want to send a clear message to anybody partaking in the drug trade here in Greenville that if you are involved in any way, shape, or form we are on to you, and we will do whatever it takes to get you in custody and behind bars. These drugs are outright killing people and we will not rest until every dangerous narcotic is eliminated from the streets, businesses, schools and homes of Greenville County.”
Bart McEntire, Commander of the Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, stated, “This seizure is a significant seizure of methamphetamine and to date is the largest seizure of methamphetamine by the DEU since its inception (in April DEU made a seizure of 20 pounds of methamphetamine). With this seizure, the DEU has seized approximately 111 pounds of methamphetamine since July 1, 2020, to date.”
Commonly, users of drugs will ingest in some form .02 tenths to .05 tenths of a gram of a drug to get high. A seizure of this magnitude had the potential effect of preventing 200,000 to 500,000 uses of the drug. By removing 111 pounds of methamphetamine from the communities, drug addicts were denied the use of the drug 1 million to 2.5 million times, according to the DEU.
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug. Once addicted, users continually have to replenish their supply. It becomes an expensive habit of repetitive behavior. Often, the price to purchase a “hit” for a drug user on the streets is around $20 for a street bag to $100 a gram. The street value of 111 pounds calculates to a range of $5 to $50 million.
While these seizures are significant unfortunately, they are becoming a little too common, not only in Greenville County, but across the U.S. The volume of methamphetamine continuing to find its way into the U.S. is staggering. “In my 30 plus years of combatting drug trafficking, I have never seen the proliferation of methamphetamine at the current levels,” said McEntire. “It is a concerning and troubling trend because it's no doubt a recurring tidal wave crashing over and over through our communities. It does nothing but brings devastation and crime. The ability of Mexican drug organizations to smuggle into the U.S. is in my opinion way too easy. This is not something new but a continuing pattern of growth of the strength of the Mexican drug organizations.”