State police say they found $6 million worth of the deadly opioid fentanyl in the trunk of two Rhode Island residents pulled over for a traffic stop last month.

Police say it's the third time in less than a year that they have intercepted a multimillion-dollar shipment of the drug in the state.

Isaiah Roman, 19, and Ariana Spencer, 21, were driving down Interstate 95 in Fairfield, near Exit 21 northbound with 5 kilograms of the drug, police say.

The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Police say there were hundreds of overdose deaths in Connecticut from the drug last year.

Fairfield police alone say they see about seven overdose cases a week.

"This is an epidemic that we see locally, and it kind of touches all of our communities," says Lt. Robert Kalamaras, of the Fairfield Police Department.

And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a report saying fentanyl and other opioids are the leading cause of overdose deaths in America -- responsible for killing more than 21,000 people last year.

"That amount of fentanyl has led to many deaths…so hopefully just that motor vehicle stop alone has saved several lives," says Sgt. Robert Derry, of the state police.

Roman and Spencer are each being held on a $500,000 bond.