The US Drug Enforcement Agency says it is working with numerous law enforcement partners in Kansas, including several in the KVOE listening area, to stop counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl.
The DEA is spearheading the Northeast Kansas One Pill Can Kill initiative, which is gathering data from what it calls “overdose events” to stop this specific kind of drug trafficking. Early data, according to the DEA, indicates “shortcomings in pursuing counterfeit pills and fentanyl investigations.”
Area partners in this effort include:
*Emporia Police Department
*Lyon County Sheriff’s Office
*Coffey County Sheriff’s Office
*Osage County Sheriff’s Office
The Kansas Highway Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation are also involved.
The DEA says counterfeit pills are now commonplace, and it issued a public safety alert last September to warn about fentanyl and its dangers. The DEA also says four in 10 pills examined by its labs have enough fentanyl — or amounts that can fit on a pencil tip — to kill people.
Earlier this year, Emporia Police announced a handful of fentanyl-connected overdoses since February 2021 and it recently gave officers special training on the use of Narcan to stop overdoses if possible.
