Police issue warning after 3,000 counterfeit pills are found near hiking trail
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POCATELLO — After discovering around 3,000 pills believed to be laced with Fentanyl, the Pocatello Police Department is encouraging all residents to remain especially cautious with medication.
A zip-top baggie was found, sealed in a screw-top container, in the City Creek Trailhead area Thursday morning, according to Captain Bill Collins.
“They are all counterfeit Oxycodone and are very dangerous,” Collins said. “We would just like to warn the public, if you see something don’t touch it. Call the local police.
Because the discovery of the pills is part of an ongoing investigation, Collins could not comment on why the pills were left in the City Creek area. He did say investigators believe they were left there on purpose.
Collins said the Pacific Northwest region has been “inundated” with similar pills in recent months “but we haven’t seen them left out in the open in this quantity before.”
The 3,000 or so pills — with a street value Collins said is somewhere around $60,000 — are colored and marked to resemble Oxycodone 30mg, a commonly prescribed medication for chronic or severe pain.
Fentanyl, which the pills are believed to be laced with, is an opioid used as an anesthetic that, when taken outside of properly moderated situations, can be extremely fatal. Cases have been recorded of skin contact causing serious effects.
“We don’t want anybody touching them. We certainly don’t want anybody ingesting them,” Collins said. “If you find them, let us know.”
The pills recovered by police have been taken to a laboratory for analysis. Collins expects the results of those tests to be made available sometime in the next week.
“If you’re not getting a pill from a pharmacist or from a doctor, don’t take it,” Collins said.