NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Authorities have arrested a man they believe is involved in drug operations related to overdoses in the Middle Tennessee area.

In November 2018, law enforcement officers began investigating a series of overdoses that occurred across the Middle Tennessee area involving fentanyl-laced heroin.

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During the course of the investigation, Agents and detectives with the Murfreesboro Police Department and Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office developed identified a member of the drug ring that was supplying the heroin and fentanyl.

This week, the Rutherford County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging 26-year-old Lacorious Fuller with one count of conspiracy to distribute schedule 1 drugs.

Authorities searched Fuller’s apartment in the 3000 block of Hillsboro Pike in Nashville and found heroin, guns, and other narcotics.

While searching the apartment, a Metro Police officer was exposed to heroin and was transported to a Nashville hospital for medical evaluation and was subsequently cleared.

TBI Agents arrested Fuller on Thursday and he was booked into the Rutherford County Jail on a $200,000 bond.

An Old Hickory, TN man was arrested on similar drug-related charges involving heroin and fentanyl earlier this week.

Tennessee Department of Health data show 1,776 Tennesseans died from drug overdoses in 2017, the highest annual number of such deaths since reporting began.

Prescription opioids are still the most common drugs associated with overdose deaths in Tennessee.

According to TBI, in certain doses, fentanyl can be 50 to 100 times as potent as morphine. The drug doesn’t necessarily need to be ingested to have an effect. It can absorb through the skin, so touching the substance can quickly put an individual at risk of opioid overdose.

Anyone struggling with drug addiction issues should contact the Tennessee REDLINE at 1-800-889-9789.

Learn more about the TN Together plan to end Tennessee’s opioid crisis at www.tntogether.com.