COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) —
- Representatives from the Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, FBI, DEA and U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Iowa held a press conference at the Council Bluffs Police Department about fentanyl trafficking.
- U.S. Attorney Richard Westphal announced the sentencing of 11 defendants following an investigation into a local fentanyl trafficking ring. The death of a Council Bluffs mother due to an accidental overdose in 2022 triggered the investigation.
- Multiple agencies were involved. Law enforcement believes this fentanyl network was connected to the Sinaloa cartel.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The death of a young mother in Iowa and a Crimestoppers tip in Omaha led to the convictions of local Fentanyl dealers. I’m your southwest Iowa reporter Katrina Markel at the Council Bluffs Police Department where several law enforcement agencies gathered to explain the recent convictions.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate and a tiny amount is lethal. According to OPD investigators, they mostly see fentanyl in counterfeit oxycodone pills.
On Tuesday, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, Richard Westphal, announced the sentencing of 11 people for fentanyl trafficking in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area.
“...note for 2022: 237 overdose deaths in Iowa. 89% of those by fentanyl,” said Westphal.
One of those deaths was a 33-year-old Council Bluffs mother. FBI Omaha special agent in charge, Gene Kowel, explains.
“She had finished going through rehab around Christmas 2021. She had purchased two pills and the first pill’s toxicity was so great she died before she took the second one … Through the investigation, we were able to link the death of this young woman to a previously identified FBI target,” said Kowel.
An investigation started by Council Bluffs Police that eventually included Omaha police, the FBI and the DEA, uncovered a drug trafficking network in Nebraska and Iowa linked to 17 overdoses, including six deaths, and 100,000 pills distributed in the two states.
“One of the fastest growing groups of overdose victims is first-time, younger experimental victims who are taking a drug they think is a Percocet or an Adderall,” said Westphal.
Authorities say they believe this trafficking network was connected to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
