KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WDAF) — Police officers in Kansas City, Kansas recovered thousands of fentanyl pills during a local sweep over the weekend.
The department’s Narcotics Unit seized more than 10,000 counterfeit pills during a routine sweep of a local shipping distribution center.
Police say the pills have a market value of around $100,000 and were mixed with the highly potent drug fentanyl.
“The KCKPD wants merchants and suppliers to know that Kansas City, Kansas is not the place to do business,” said Captain John Diaz of the KCKPD’s Narcotics Unit.
“We are conducting routine checks with the assistance of drug sniffing K9s at a variety of facilities, including those that process parcels.”
Diaz said the department seized about 150,000 pills last year and plans to seize even more in 2023.
The pills recovered from the KCKPD are nearly identical to those dispensed at pharmacies, but contain potentially lethal amounts of fentanyl. Police say the drug is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Once ingested or inhaled, most overdoses occur within minutes.
In 2022, KCKPD responded to 174 overdoses, of which 40 resulted in death. This represents a significant increase from 2021, when officers responded to 111 overdoses and 23 resulted in deaths.
If you are with someone who is showing overdose symptoms and is unresponsive after swallowing or sniffing a drug, call 911 immediately.
If you have information regarding the sale of fentanyl or any illegal drug, you are encouraged to anonymously call the KCKPD’s 24-hour Narcotics Hotline at 913-573-6287.
