Police have arrested several people in connection to the distribution of fentanyl.
A Celina Police Department investigator told NBC 5 that the investigation started in September 2021 with the stopping of two men acting suspiciously around the Celina square. Since then, authorities have arrested several drug distributors across Dallas and Collin Counties.
According to a Celina PD investigator, “good patrol work” led to the arrests. Following a search of the men’s phones, officers discovered distributors of counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl.
Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid whose use has spiked in the U.S. in recent years. According to Collin County, it is the top cause of overdose deaths in the country. Fentanyl was originally manufactured to treat pain in cancer patients. However, its illegal use is increasing across the country.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. saw an increase of 28.5% between April 2020 and April 2021. Three out of four overdose deaths are linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“They’re pushing thousands of pills a month as far as fentanyl goes,” said the investigator, whose identity is not revealed due to his undercover work.
The Celina PD investigator said that the pills, which look like oxycodone, are allegedly made in Mexico. “It is being mixed in labs, not by chemists, with fillers, crushed up baby aspirin, baby powder — stuff like that — so it’s fentanyl and then a filler, then in a pill press, it’s made to look like a pharmaceutical grade pill, but it’s not.”
Police say the pill operation was uncovered after the stop in Celina had been connected with one overdose death at a hotel in Dallas. Three suspects linked to the operation face federal indictment, while six face state charges.
The Celina PD investigator advises people to beware of pills. “What they may think of as a little blue pill that comes from a pharmacy, it doesn’t come from a pharmacy, it’s not real,” said the CPD investigator. “It’s a pill that very well may kill you.” Parents are advised to educate their children about the dangers of drug use.
