ROANOKE, Va. – A Vinton woman facing accusations of having a record-setting amount of an illegal drug in a hidden compartment of her car pleaded not guilty Thursday in Roanoke.
Chelsea Marie Fry is facing a federal charge for having the drug fentanyl and trying to sell it, court records show.
She allegedly had nearly 2 kilograms of the opioid, or more than 4 pounds, in her car. A Virginia State Police spokesperson says that’s the largest state police seizure of fentanyl in a traffic stop.
A federal officer said police pulled Fry over for speeding Aug. 5 on Interstate 81 in Rockingham County. The officer says the 24-year-old was visibly upset.
The federal report says a drug dog alerted officers to Fry’s trunk, where they found bags of drugs under a bolted-down steel plate. The report says it appeared as if Fry tried to mask the odor.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid. It’s one of the drugs causing a rise in deadly overdoses around the country.