YPD, YCSO warn of fake oxycodone pills
Lookalikes laced with fentanyl being sold on streets, agencies say
Lookalike oxycodone pills being sold on the streets in the Yuma area may be laced with a powerful synthetic opioid that can kill with just one dose, according to the Yuma Police Department and the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.
The pills are usually light blue in color and are imprinted with the same “M 30” marking found on real oxycodone pills. However, these fake pills are made from fentanyl, which is anywhere from 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
The drug fentanyl — which is so potent it is prescribed in micrograms as opposed to milligrams — was originally manufactured to medically treat pain. It is the same drug that has been linked to the deaths of music superstars Tom Petty and Prince.
“We have been dealing with it since it started to gain popularity about a year ago,” said YPD Sgt. Jeff Auricchio. “If you have them, don’t take them, they are dangerous. Chances are high you will likely overdose. Don’t even get involved with this pill.”
YCSO had its first significant seizure of the fake pills in December of 2017 when members of the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force (YCNTF) responded to the Border Patrol immigration checkpoint on Interstate 8 and confiscated a large plastic bag filled with 500 light blue tablets with the imprint of “M 30.”
“Border Patrol agents found the narcotics hidden in a vehicle while they were conducting a secondary search on it, and notified us,” YCSO spokesperson Alfonso Zavala said.
The tablets, which had an estimated street value of $15,000, were sent to the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab to be
analyzed, which confirmed the tablets were laced with fentanyl — which is also highly addictive.
The greatest danger associated to fentanyl, Zavala said, is that due to the strength of the drug, it could lead to an increase in overdoses and overdoserelated fatalities.
Aurricchio explained that Yuma police officers have encountered enough of these fake pills that they are now taking precautions to protect themselves and to help someone who may be overdosing on it.
He said that currently, about 30 officers have been trained to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose. These officers now carry a nasal spray form of naloxone, which is an antidote used to reverse opioid overdoses, and the officers can administer naloxone to save someone’s life.
“We got a save on one overdose, because the officer who responded was one of the ones who had been trained and was able to administered naloxone prior to paramedics arriving on scene,”Aurricchio said. “The only time we get called about the drug is for an overdose, and by then it is a life or death situation.”
YPD is in the process of training more officers, as well as developing procedures for officers to follow if they suspect that fentanyl is involved in an incident. Those procedures for officers include wearing gloves, not rubbing their eyes and information on how to handle the pills.
“We tell the officers not to even field test them because they are that hazardous,” Aurricchio said.
Some drug users turn to fentanyl after they build up a tolerance to previous opioids and are seeking something stronger.
“It is the new thing. It has a very strong high,” Aurricchio said. “For the drug user, once they become accustomed to a certain level of high, other drugs aren’t going to have the same effect. The addiction is very strong and they will chase that high every time.”
While there are some drug users who may be able to “handle” the fentanyl, it’s a different story for someone who has never been exposed to such a drug.
For example, law enforcement officers, since they have never taken it before, have no tolerance to it, and even coming into contact with the smallest dosage can cause them to overdose.
The same goes for the average person, who may see an pill on the ground and pick it up, not knowing how dangerous it can be.
Zavala said the only reliable way to tell one pill from another is to look at the imprint on the pill. These fake oxycodone pills, he said, are not professionally made, so if you look at the imprint stamped on them, it is of a lesser quality.
He explained that the imprint on the fake pill looks blurry and not as sharp.
Something else that makes these fake oxycodone pills especially worrisome is that you can’t smell or taste it. Zavala added that the amount of fentanyl can vary between pills. So while a pill from one batch may get a person high without killing them, a pill from another batch may contain enough fentanyl to be fatal.
Auricchio explained that actual oxycodone pills are pressed and designed to be slowly absorbed over time. These fake fentanyllaced pills, however, are not.
“You get hit with the drug all at once, which is what makes them so dangerous,” Auricchio said.
The counterfeit 500 light blue pills seized by YCSO were being smuggled into the country from Mexico.
“It is a good possibility that it is where they are coming from,” Zavala said.
Law enforcement agencies around the state have also reported finding counterfeit pills containing a synthetic opioid known as carfentanil, which is approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.
So far those pills have not been found in the Yuma area, according to Auricchio and Zavala.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 5396854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.