A man who New Jersey authorities say had a record-setting amount of the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl has been indicted on drug possession charges.

Yahmire Boardley is also charged with intent to distribute the drug in the indictment that was handed up Monday.

The 23-year-old Camden man allegedly had 31 pounds of fentanyl when he was arrested in March. State Attorney General Christopher Porrino says it's the largest seizure of the drug in state history.

Porrino said the supply could have yielded upward of 5 million lethal doses if sold on the street. That is more than half the population of the state.

Officials say a joint investigation by state and federal authorities found large quantities of the drug were being shipped from China to various locations around Camden.

Boardley's lawyer was not available for comment on Monday.

There has been a growing number of deaths from fentanyl in New Jersey in recent years. There were 417 overdose deaths in 2015. That number was almost matched within the first six months of 2016.

The epidemic nationwide led President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency on opioids earlier this month.

The declaration could open up money for states dealing with the health crisis. It could also mean public health workers would be deployed to help tackle substance abuse issues.