Neptune Authorities Recover Another Batch Of Fentanyl-laced Drugs

By Carol Williams/Patch Staff

NEPTUNE, NJ - The New Jersey State Police forensics laboratory has confirmed that another seizure of highly dangerous pills containing Cyclopropyl Fentanyl, a potentially fatal synthetic drug, the third time this year such a combination has been recovered in Monmouth County after investigations in Long Branch and Holmdel, Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said. “Persons buying these drugs on the black market are in grave danger. This substance is lethal.” Gramiccioni said in a release. Earlier this year, the Neptune Township Police Department seized 30 pills suspected to be Oxycodone during an investigation at the Crystal Inn. At the time of the incident, the deadly pills were believed to be legitimate, pharmaceutical Oxycodone tablets. But lab analysis determined the pills contained Cyclopropyl Fentanyl.

In these seizures, the deadly drug, in a pill form, was made to look like legitimate Oxycodone tablets, according to the state police. Earlier this month, the prosecutor's office announced the seizure of similar drugs in separate police investigations in Long Branch and Holmdel. Those drugs were illicitly manufactured into pill form and imprinted with markings A/215, mimicking pharmaceutical Oxycodone tablets, officials said.

“No one should be buying drugs in an illicit manner but it’s important to know how to distinguish the deadly phony drugs from the real thing.' Gramiccioni said. "These pills look and feel only slightly smaller and the coloring is off by just a shade. It bears repeating: If you are buying these pills on the street, you are playing a deadly version of Russian roulette."

The arrival of Carfentanil and Cyclopropyl Fentanyl is a "tragic development in the opiate crisis we are already facing — especially for those suffering with an opiate addiction in Monmouth County," Gramiccioni said. "Although these counterfeit pills appear to be Oxycodone, they can have deadly consequences."

Carfentanil is a powerful synthetic opiate that is 10,000 times more potent than Morphine and 100 times more potent than Fentanyl, offcials said. A single granule of Carfentanil, which has been approved only for veterinary uses, poses substantial risks to people, experts advise. The drug is so toxic that a recent federal Drug Enforcement Administration Safety Alert was directed at law enforcement officers and first responders who may have been exposed to Carfentanil as a result of accidental physical contact or inhalation. More information about that alert is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/file/898991/download.

Cyclopropyl Fentanyl, another Fentanyl derivative, is not intended for any human or veterinary uses and was involved in a series of fatal overdoses across the country earlier this summer. More information about Cyclopropyl Fentanyl is available at https://www.ems1.com/opioids/articles/276131048-Deadly-chemicals-in-Ga-counterfeit-pill-outbreak-identified.

Addicts seeking help should go to ReachNJ.gov or call 1-844-REACHNJ . The help is free, confidential t and available 24 hours a day seven days a week.

This image shows a version of illicit Fentanyl pills. They are generally smaller and their color is slightly off, officials said. Photograph by Cuyahoga, Ohio, Medical Examiner's office via the Associated Press.