Tip leads to arrest of 3 ‘wholesale fentanyl dealers’ with 1,000 pills, Wichita police say

An anonymous tip led to the arrest of three “wholesale fentanyl dealers” with over 1,000 pills, Wichita police spokesperson Trevor Macy said Friday.

Each pill has the potential to kill.

Macy said the tipster was given a $2,500 reward through Crime Stoppers of Wichita/Sedgwick County. Macy is the department’s coordinator of the program. The payout was approved by the Crime Stoppers’ board on Monday.

The anonymous tip about drugs being sold at a home in the 6100 block of East Boston led to last month’s arrests of 21-year-old Chandra Marie Bray, 25-year-old Matthew Edward Lewis and 26-year-old Michael Earl Parker, Macy said.

All of them are from Wichita and were arrested on multiple drug charges and a weapons charge, records show. Parker’s weapon charge was a felon in possession of a firearm.

During a search at the home, officers found over “1,000 suspected fentanyl pills, powders, drug paraphernalia and several stolen firearms,” Macy said.

Crime Stoppers launched a fentanyl arrest campaign that offers up to $2,500 rewards for tips of wholesale fentanyl dealers or anyone in possession of more than 1,000 pills with the intention to sell.

“I think it sends a strong message to the community and the dealers that we won’t tolerate this happening here in Sedgwick County,” Macy said about the reward. “We’re actively targeting fentanyl dealers in Sedgwick County.”

Anyone with information about drug sales or any crime in Sedgwick County can receive an award if they submit a tip to Crime Stoppers by calling 316-267-2111 or online at stopcrime316.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Tips that lead to an arrest are eligible for up to a $2,500 reward.

More than 1,000 pills are a significant bust. Police also seized more than 7,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop in March.

In response to a spike in fatal overdoses, the police department and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office launched a fentanyl awareness campaign earlier this month. Fatal fentanyl overdoses in Sedgwick County went from 98 in 2018 to 242 in 2021. Sheriff Jeff Easter expects the deaths to exceed 300 this year.

More information about overdoses and resources to help with addiction are available at sedgwickcounty.org/drugmisuse.

This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 12:42 PM.