Federal agents in Washington state have seized more than 50,000 counterfeit pills laced with carfentanil, a drug said to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl.

Centralia

Federal agents in Washington state have confiscated more than 50,000 counterfeit pills containing carfentanil, a drug reported to be 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine. The pills, which resembled prescription oxycodone, were discovered during a traffic stop in Centralia as part of a lengthy investigation, and the driver now faces federal charges.

Authorities warn that carfentanil, originally used as a tranquilizer for large animals, has been increasingly found in counterfeit pills and other street drugs across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported a significant rise in deaths involving carfentanil, and law enforcement urges the public to avoid any pills not prescribed by a medical professional. In cases of suspected overdose, multiple doses of Narcan may be required to counteract the drug's effects.

Feds seize 50,000 pills laced with drug 100 times stronger than fentanyl

In Washington state, federal agents just seized more than 50,000 counterfeit pills laced with a drug even more powerful than fentanyl. It's called car fentanyl and officials say it's 100 times more potent than fentanyl and it's showing up across the country and pills and powders. Let's bring in CBS News reporter Andres Gutierrez live now from Las Vegas. Andres, let's start with this bust in Washington state that we know about. What exactly did agents find? Well, Elizabeth, this all was part of a month's long investigation that ended at a gas station in Centralia, Washington. Authorities there ended up pulling over a car and inside they found all those pills. Let's go ahead and take a look at them. They're right there on your screen. 50,000 of them. The driver was taken in for federal charges. The pills were taken to a lab in California. They look like prescription oxycodone, but the lab results came back. Pills were laced with carton fentanyl, a drug that is used to tranquilize elephants and other large animals. And this is the scary part. You mentioned it there right off the top. Car fentanyl is about 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine. And so even the tiniest speck can kill a person. The CDC has found that deaths involving this drug did increase from 29 deaths in the first half of 2023 to 238 deaths in the first half of last year. And this drug has been detected so far in 37 out of the 50 states here in America. And Andres, how is car fentanyl getting into the street supply? Well, Elizabeth, according to law enforcement, these drug traffickers have been cutting it into counterfeit pills, heroin, even cocaine because it is cheap. It is addictive. We got some insight from a retired D. A. Special agent in Indiana. And here's what he told us by a time. A drug gets to our area in Indiana. You don't know how many times it could have exchanged hands with with a drug trafficker 5678 times. And each time you run a risk of somebody getting some of these synthetic opioids and throwing that in there. And so the D. A. Is urging the most obvious thing. If you are not given a opioid by a doctor prescribed a pill by a pharmacist or dispensed by pharmacist, don't take it. Yeah. And we show this video Andres of just how we're talking about. Just a speck of car. Fentanyl can kill you. There's that video there. We're talking about nothing bigger than the tip of a pencil. So if someone is exposed to car fentanyl, what can friends or family do? Mhm. Well, the most obvious right now is to call 911 and then to go ahead and watch out for the warning signs. It's very similar to other overdoses. You'll want to make sure to see if the person is breathing very slowly or not at all. They will also be snoring or perhaps gurgling. And if you do look into their eyes, they'll have tiny pupils and usually they'll be cold to the touch or very difficult to wake up. And if you have Narcan, you'll want to give it to them. But be prepared with a specific drug. It will take multiple doses to counteract the effects of the drug. And so you may have to keep giving Narcan to them until the paramedics arrive. So again, this is a very disturbing drug that is here in the U. S. And it is spreading really quickly. It's absolutely terrifying. Andres Gutierrez. Thank you so much for that.

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