Search at residence turns up counterfeit Oxycodone, other pills
OROVILLE » A man was arrested Tuesday after detectives with the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force served a search warrant at a residence and found evidence of counterfeit pills to be manufactured and sold.
With the assistance of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the BINTF said in a press release that Alex Herrera, 41, was the subject of a search warrant in the 1400 block of 21st Street in Oroville.
Wh i le searching the residence, det e c t i v e s said they found several firearms including an illegal assault weapon, a pill press and items associated with producing counterfeit pills including counterfeit Oxycodone and other miscellaneous pills.
Herrera was arrested on suspicion of possession of an opiate for sales, possession of an illegal assault rifle, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of ammunition by a felon and being armed in the commission of a felony. Additionally, the release stated Herrera had a felony warrant for his arrest in a previous BCSO vandalism case.
Herrera is currently in custody at the Butte County Jail and has a bail amount set at $143,000.
The BINTF said in the release that Fentanyl is commonly used to produce counterfeit pills, noting the pills are being manufactured across the state in garages and residences, and they are becoming a “growing and dangerous concern for law enforcement.” The counterfeit pills seized in Tuesday’s search will now be analyzed to determine the contents of them.
“Due to the very small amount of fentanyl needed to cause an overdose and the fact that the producers of these pills rarely measure the amount of fentanyl in each individual pill, the potential for a lethal amount of fentanyl to be in these pills is very high,” the release stated.
The BINTF also confirmed, through its work with the Butte County Coroner’s Office, that they are aware of “several” deaths as a result of Fentanyl overdoses that have occurred locally in the past year.
The BINTF asks anyone with information pertaining to Fentanyl cases to contact the agency at 538-2261.