OMAHA - Investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 32,000 fake pills in over two days last week, including many laced with lethal doses of fentanyl.

Up to this point in 2022, DEA investigators have seized 151,500 pills in Nebraska which marks an 83% increase over the 82,775 pills seized in all of 2021.

“Fake pills, designed to look like legitimate prescription medications, are readily available on the streets of Nebraska,” said Justin C. King, the special agent in charge of the Omaha Division. “No city or town, be it rural or urban, big or small, is immune to this substance. We want people to be aware of the dangers of taking these pills and other substances of unknown origin.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, equivalent in size to 10 to 20 grains of salt, is considered a potentially lethal dose.

Four out of every 10 of these pills, designed to look like several prescription opioids, have been found to contain a deadly amount of fentanyl.

“Cartels are producing fake pills in mass quantity and social media continues to play a significant role in the upward trend of these potentially lethal drugs,” King said. "They’re easy to purchase and easy to conceal. We need everyone to understand that taking just one fake pill can have deadly consequences.”

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