- Approximately 150,000 pills of Carfentanil have been seized with help from the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service.
- The drug is being manufactured to resemble legal opioids like Oxycodone and, in some cases, Adderall.
- To date, 30 pounds headed to Omaha have been seized
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Approximately 150,000 pills of Carfentanil have been seized with help from the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service, during a drug operation that started in November of last year. One single bust contained 24 pounds of the drug, making it one of the largest in the United States. To date, 30 pounds have been seized.
"They're being shipped by drug organizations, cartel-connected we suspect, and what is significant in this case is that these 150,000 facsimile oxycodone pills, if even 1% of them constituted a lethal dose, you're talking 1500 people that could have lost their lives," said Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson.
The Omaha Police Department also warned of the dangers of Carfentanil after it was detected in the metro last week. It said the drug is "10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl."
It's legally used in zoological settings as a tranquilizer for large animals, like elephants and rhinoceroses. However, Sheriff Aaron Hanson said drug cartels disguise it to look like prescription drugs like Oxycodone and Adderall.
"We may be talking about a young person who thinks they're taking a legal prescription medication, albeit recreationally, but in fact they're, they're taking a facsimile pill that is in fact laced with Fentanyl or Carfentanil and could kill them," said Sheriff Hanson.
The sheriff's office could not make any comments about arrests because the investigation is ongoing.
Because the pill is often disguised as something else and has a high potency, University of Nebraska Medical Center Director of Addiction Psychology, Dr. Alena Balasanova, said the drug has an extreme overdose risk and requires a more significant amount of Narcan to counteract the effects.
"We are definitely seeing an increased need for Naloxone or Narcan, more than 1 dose, more than 2 doses, more than 3 and 4 doses sometimes, and then sometimes they have to come to the hospital and be put on continuous Naloxone," said Dr. Balasanova.
Dr. Balasanova said that opioid use disorders can begin from prescribed use after an injury and psychological trauma like PTSD, depression, and anxiety. But, they're highly treatable.
"Stigma is a killer. It truly is, and it's important to recognize that we have a lot of resources. Mental health is not taboo anymore, you know, it is part of regular health, and we have people that are ready to help," said Dr. Balasanova.
Nebraska Medicine gives free Naloxone with every prescribed opioid. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has a free naloxone distribution program.
