Man accused of selling fake oxy pills laced with fentanyl
Adloye Virgo was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies.
GREENPORT, N.Y. » A man who allegedly was selling counterfeit oxycodone pills that were laced with fentanyl, a narcotic that can be deadly in even minute amounts, has been arrested, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
Adloye Virgo, 36, of Hudson, was arrested Thursday, April 1, in the town of Greenport and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence, both felonies, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Sheriff’s Lt. John M. Rivero said Tuesday that oxycodone laced with fentanyl is sometimes sold to individuals whose tolerance for the opioid painkiller oxycodone “has gotten so high … that fentanyl is the only thing that’s giving them that original feeling.”
But “if somebody’s looking for a regular fix, this could be deadly,” Rivero said.
The lieutenant said unsuspecting victims could be “everything from innocent parents giving it to their kid who hurt themselves to an addict trying to get a fix.”
“We see this as the saddest part of that story,” he said.
Rivero said Virgo’s alleged customer base probably included people from outside Columbia County.
“Customers will come to them,” he said. “... With today’s day and age and social media and cellphones … their range is very extensive.”
Rivero would not say whether the Sheriff’s Office is aware of any individuals who were harmed by the drugs Virgo allegedly sold.
Virgo’s arrest followed an investigation of drug sales in the area of Fairview Avenue and Charles Street in Greenport, the Sheriff’s Office said. It said that when he was approached by law enforcement, Virgo fled and allegedly discarded a bag containing about 98 blue pills that appeared to be consistent with oxycodone 30-milligram pills.
An investigation found that the pills “were counterfeit and actually contained the narcotic drug fentanyl,” a press release from the Sheriff’s Office stated.
Virgo was arraigned in Greenport Town Court and released on his own recognizance with an appearance ticket for a later date.
On March 20, in Ulster County, Jamal Thompson, 24, a drug dealer from Butler, N.J., admitted to knowingly selling the fentanyl-laced narcotics that killed a town of Rochester man early last year. Thompson, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, faces 3½ to 15 years in state prison.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone experiencing drug addiction to seek treatment at Greener Pathways by calling (518) 291-4500 during business hours or (518) 822-0090 evenings and weekends.