Relatives of victims met with law enforcement Thursday in Coppell seeking strength from each other and action from authorities against deadly fentanyl.
Relatives of victims met with law enforcement Thursday in Coppell seeking strength from each other and action from authorities against deadly fentanyl.
Among the grieving people was Adolph Alvarez. His 18-year-old daughter Abigail died just four months ago, but he wanted to talk about it.
“It’s difficult for sure but it’s important that it gets talked about especially when it's raw like right now because I want people to feel my feelings. I want them to see the brokenness because they don’t need to go through that,” he said.
Abigail's father said she went to a party and was found dead at the location many hours later after he had gone looking for her.
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“It’s so real to all of us parents that are here and we’re just trying to get the message to other parents so it won’t have to happen to them because that’s how I believe we can keep our kids alive is to save somebody else’s kids,” he said.
The summit with police, federal agents and federal prosecutors was an effort to communicate the deadly power of fentanyl.
“This sugar packet alone, if it were fentanyl, could produce up to 500 fake pills containing a lethal dose,” Dallas DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo Chavez said.
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Chris Wilson, the U.S. Attorney for the state of Oklahoma, was there.
“No one is immune. Every corner of the map is dealing with this issue,” Wilson said.
Dallas U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said no one is immune from prosecution if found to be selling fentanyl.
“It doesn't matter to us if you work for a professional sports organization, if you're a street-level dealer working out of a crack house or if you're selling drugs from the lab,” Meacham said.
Natasha Williams was there to send a different message. Not all fentanyl victims are kids. Her 38-year-old sister Doretta Rhodes, a mother of five children, died in June 2020 in her own home after receiving what turned out to be fentanyl from people she knew.
“They watched her die and left her in the room, locked her in the room. So, the kids found her the next day,” Williams said. “My message to everyone is not to do drugs. If the doctor don't give them to you, do not trust anyone.”
Like many people at the Coppell summit, Williams wants to somehow bring good from tragedy by gaining strength from other survivors to spread the message about fentanyl.
“Everybody wants to talk about their loved ones because everybody wants their loved ones remembered. We want to honor that and if through our ability to hold people to justice that helps accomplish that, then for us it is mission accomplished,” Chavez said.
Chavez said most fentanyl comes in pill form by smugglers through Mexico but originates in powder form from China.
He said the DEA and local law enforcement are working hard to identify smuggling networks and make arrests. But he said reducing demand through education may also reduce the supply rushing through the US.
WHAT IS FENTANYL?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.
Without laboratory testing, there is no way to know how much fentanyl is concentrated in a pill or powder. If you encounter fentanyl in any form, do not handle it and call 911 immediately.
Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66% of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
Drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl available in the United States is primarily supplied by two criminal drug networks, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
WHAT IS RAINBOW FENTANYL?
In August 2022 the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public advisory about the alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available nationwide.
Brightly-colored fentanyl, dubbed "rainbow fentanyl" in the media, is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk.
“Rainbow fentanyl—fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes—is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.”
Despite claims that certain colors may be more potent than others, there is no indication through DEA’s laboratory testing that this is the case. The DEA said every color, shape, and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous.
