32 deaths in metro Phoenix attributed to counterfeit pills
PHOENIX — Authorities say they have uncovered a dangerous new trend in drug trafficking in Arizona in which addicts are taking counterfeit OxyContin pills that are laced with the more powerful painkiller fentanyl.
The counterfeit pills are responsible for the overdose deaths of 32 people in metro Phoenix over the last 18 months, said Doug Coleman, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s operation in Arizona, noting that the addicts didn’t know they were taking a more powerful drug.
“They think they are taking Oxy, but they are taking fentanyl,” Coleman said.
Federal agents started seeing the counterfeit pills being smuggled through Arizona two years ago, but those tablets were normally headed to the East Coast and San Francisco area.