PANT warns of mimic pills laced with fentanyl circulating in Prescott area

Four examples of mimic pills laced with fentanyl. The pills are made to look like baby aspirin, oxycodone, Xanax and metformin, but are in fact only mimic pills laced with fentanyl. (PANT/Courtesy)

By The Daily Courier | DailyCourier | TheDailyCourier

Originally Published: August 18, 2020 7:46 p.m.

Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT) detectives said Monday, Aug. 17, that in recent weeks they have been investigating several cases in the quad-city area involving fentanyl pills looking like common medications such as aspirin and Xanax, according to a news release.

Even a small dose of fentanyl can cause an overdose or death, and such incidents have been increasing in the county in recent months, PANT detectives added in a MATFORCE release.

“The pills being found in the community have no visible indication as to their contents,” the release stated. “Through testing, many of the pills have been confirmed to contain valeryl fentanyl, which is a fentanyl analog.

“Varying fentanyl analogs are often 10 to 100 times more powerful than standard medical-grade fentanyl.”

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, area police and MATFORCE are urging families to talk now and often about the dangers of drug abuse.

“With fentanyl-laced pills available in our community, it is very important to remember that any pill if not obtained personally and in its original packaging may be counterfeit and contain fentanyl or fentanyl analogs,” the release added.

For more information about the dangers of fentanyl, visit drugabuse.gov.

Share #StopFentanylNow