Overdoses from fentanyl-laced drugs are at an all-time high and a recent case in Nebraska warns of pills that may be laced with the deadly drug.
Brandon Davis of Lincoln received 15 years in federal prison last month for selling more than 5 people fentanyl-laced cocaine. Some of Davis’ victims suffered suspected overdoses and required medical attention. Lincoln Police tested the cocaine to find out it contained fentanyl.
Emily Murray from the Drug Enforcement Administration in Omaha says they’ve seen fentanyl overdoses becoming a larger issue in Nebraska.
“We’ve seen a significant uptick of fentanyl flooding into the United States. It’s coming across in pressed pill form, it's being mixed in with other drugs. It’s an incredibly dangerous substance. And it's in Nebraska right now," she explained.
According to Murray, in 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated 20 million fentanyl pills nationally.
“We are seeing a significant amount of these fake pills. So pills that are made to look like Oxycodone or Hydrocodone or Xanax or Adderall. When truly they are fentanyl pills," Murray said
Davis was selling what he advertised as cocaine but was actually a pill heavily laced with fentanyl. Victims of Davis’ fentanyl-laced drugs told officers they bought cocaine from him but were unaware there was fentanyl in it.
Chief of the Drug Enforcement unit, Susan Lehr, said no deaths resulted from the use of these pills.