SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) — On Sunday in San Francisco, one man walked down the street carrying enough drugs in his pockets and backpack to kill the city’s entire population, according to prosecutors.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Wednesday that the suspected drug dealer, Miguel Ramos, has been arrested and charged with multiple felony counts for possessing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine that he allegedly intended to sell to San Franciscans.

“The amount of fentanyl on our streets is at crisis levels,” Jenkins said.  “Ramos’ possession of nearly 8 pounds of fentanyl, an amount sufficient to kill more than the entire population in San Francisco, clearly demonstrates that we can no longer allow drug dealers to operate with impunity in our city.”

Ramos, 24, was arrested three days ago by San Francisco Police Department officers who were working the graveyard shift and patrolling the Tenderloin, a neighborhood plagued by rampant drug dealing. Officers said Ramos was suspected of attacking a victim the prior night. When officers searched Ramos’ pants pockets and backpack, they found the huge cache of narcotics and $1,000 in cash.

drug dealing
Drugs allegedly found in Miguel Ramos’ possession are shown. (Image courtesy SFPD)

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. 

In this case, Ramos was arrested with 3.5 kilograms of fentanyl (approximately 7.7 pounds) of fentanyl, which is enough to kill more than 1.5 million people, prosecutors said.

The District Attorney’s Office said it will file a motion to keep Ramos in jail as he awaits trial.  Jenkins ordered prosecutors to seek detention in cases where defendants “pose clear threats to public safety” given the lethality of the vast quantities of fentanyl they possessed, repeated drug dealing, or being armed while possessing fentanyl intended to be sold. 

Ramos is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Wednesday afternoon. “My office will work with SFPD to ensure that this individual is held accountable,” Jenkins said.

Hundreds of San Franciscans have died from drug overdoses this year as the city’s fentanyl crisis continues. According to a recently-released report from the San Francisco Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, 391 people died from accidental overdoses in 2022. Seventy-percent were attributed to fentanyl.

Although charges have been filed, the investigation into Ramos remains active.  Anyone with information is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department Tip Line at 415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with “SFPD.” You may remain anonymous.