July 11, 2022: Mexican authorities seize half a million fentanyl pills in Sinaloan warehouse.
This week: Mexico busted a huge fentanyl pill warehouse in Sinaloa. The U.S. is trying to extradite a Canadian who allegedly made and trafficked fake Xanax to the U.S. A dozen more stories about counterfeit pills across the country.
Mexican soldiers seized 500,000 fentanyl pills from a warehouse in Culiacan, Sinaloa’s capital city. This is one of several recent counterfeit pill-related seizures on the Mexican side of the border: in June, authorities seized a pill press used to manufacture fentanyl pills in the border town of San Luis Rio Colorado, across from Yuma, Arizona, and 80,000 fentanyl pills on the Culiacán-Los Mochis highway.
Lawyers for a Canadian man appeared in Quebec Superior Court to demand better conditions for their client. Alexandre Beaudry has been detained until the court determines whether to grant the U.S. extradition. Beaudry allegedly made—boasted about—and sold millions of fake Xanax pills on the dark web from 2016 to 2017. Learn more about Beaudry's operation in the video below.
Pill presses give counterfeiters the tools to make ANY kind of fake pill.
Fentanyl pills seized on the Culiacán-Los Mochis highway, June 2022 (FGR)
Counterfeit pills across the country
In the Pacific West
21-year-old Kaylar Beltranlap pleaded guilty to selling a counterfeit oxycodone pill that killed a 15-year-old in Coronado, California on May 12, 2021.
In the Mountain West
The district attorney for the Denver, Colorado area announced that a lengthy wiretap investigation had led to the seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills, about five kilograms of other illicit drugs, four guns and $60,000 in suspected stolen merchandise.
A Texas man and Nevada woman were arrested at Colorado National Monument after sheriff’s deputies found that they were carrying 2,200 fentanyl pills and approximately 1,000 grams of other drugs. The campers came to park rangers' attention because of an illegal campfire.
Police in Fontaine, Colorado reported finding 2,000 suspected fentanyl pills, two handguns, ten grams of suspected meth and $12,000 in cash in a stolen car after a man driving the car had crashed into their vehicles.
Colorado law enforcement seized a total of 200,000 fentanyl pills in two separate busts during a lengthy investigation. (Colorado's 18th Judicial District)
An 18-year-old awaiting trial for fatal arson in a Denver jail is facing additional charges after authorities found 100 fentanyl pills hidden on his person.
Colorado nonprofit Voices For Awareness announced the launch of the Colorado Coalition for Families Affected by Fentanyl (CCFAF) to aid and support families affected by a fentanyl death.
In the Midwest
Two Evansville, Indiana residents were indicted for manufacturing counterfeit pills made with fentanyl and selling them via encrypted messaging applications and the dark web. Authorities seized approximately 140 grams of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and powder, two pill presses, and various dies and punches to make the fake pills.
Sheriff’s deputies in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin seized over 1,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop in late June 2022.
In the South
A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper seized one-and-a-half-pounds of fentanyl pills and $7,000 during a traffic stop in Hamilton County.
In Virginia, the Prince William County Police Department seized over 20,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet that were hidden in a fire extinguisher in a car.
20,000 counterfeit pills made of fentanyl found in a fire extinguisher. (Prince William County, Virginia Police)
On the East Coast
Chelmsford, Massachusetts resident Vando Gvozdarevi pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges after police found more than 12,500 counterfeit Adderall pills made with methamphetamine and 3,700 fake oxycodone pills made with fentanyl in his apartment. Gvozdarevic is the third of 13 people indicted in the case.
A Boston resident was arrested on drug trafficking charges after he sold a confidential source about 5,000 counterfeit pills made with fentanyl over three separate meetings between March and July 2022.