DEA Suspects Deadly Fake Percocet in Georgia Coming from Mexican Cartels

Overdoes by Counties in Georgia

DEA agents suspect Mexican drug cartels are behind the wave over overdoses and deaths caused by fake Percocet pills made with fentanyl analogues. The DEA is exploring possible ties between the national wave of fake pain pills laced with fentanyl and Mexican crime organizations, reports Georgia news station Alive11.

DEA Special Agent Dan Salter told Alive11, "There is a concerted effort by these cartels to press fentanyl into pills illicitly and sell them.”

U.S. Attorney John Horn shared with WSB-TV that he believes that the Mexican cartel is shipping the fake pills, which contain the deadly fentanyl analogues, to Georgia. "They're so potent even taking one pill can create an overdose and death,” Horn said.

On June 27, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab identified two new fentanyl analogues that were present in the fake Percocet: acrylfentanyl and tetrahydrofuran fentanyl. They note that “both of these synthetic opioids had not previously been identified by the GBI Crime Lab. They both can be absorbed through the skin and are considered highly dangerous.”

The GBI Crime Lab also pointed out another danger posed by these new fentanyl analogues: “Multiple reports in other states indicated that the opioid reversal drug, naloxone, may not be effective if someone overdosed after ingesting acrylfentanyl.”