Fentanyl Pill Counterfeiters In Arkansas, California, And North Carolina Busted

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Reports of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl are coming in on a daily basis. Here is a quick recap of three stories, one from Arkansas, one from North Carolina, and one from California:

5 News Online reported that police arrested Lewis R. Chafin of Fayetteville, Arkansas in April for allegedly manufacturing counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl. A search of Chafin’s home turned up the 43 counterfeit oxycodone pills along with an array of other drugs, both legal and illegal. Chafin is facing eight felonies and is currently free on bond. His next scheduled court hearing is on May 11 in Washington County Circuit Court.

The-Dispatch.com reported on the successful dismantling of a drug lab in Denton, North Carolina. This case started after agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contacted the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department about a package bound of Denton from Belgium that tested positive for MDMA. A controlled delivery of the package was made and agents followed the person who picked it up to a makeshift campsite further into the property. That was where they found the two pill press machines. Police seized approximately 800 already pressed pills, including 240 pills resembling alprazolam, 140 pills of counterfeit oxycodone and 102 pills that resemble Adderall. Testing is currently underway to determine what the pills were made out of. Police allege that Sean Kenneth Lindsay was using various pill binding agents, dyes and stamps with the pill press machines to mimic the appearance of prescription pills. Lindsay faces multiple felony charges.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a criminal complaint against three Orange County men for distributing counterfeit oxycodone made with fentanyl. The criminal complaint alleges that the defendants purchased fentanyl and cyclopropyl fentanyl from internet suppliers, used a pill press to make the counterfeit pills, sold the pills online, and distributed them using the postal system. Wyatt Pasek, Isaiah Suarez, and Duc Cao all appeared in court to be charged and will remain in custody. A search of Suarez’s apartment turned up nearly 3 kilograms of counterfeit oxycodone and Xanax pills plus approximately 4.5 kilograms of white and blue powders that have yet to be identified. Approximately 13,000 pills that appear to be counterfeit oxycodone along with bundles of cash were found at Pasek’s residence. Assistant United States Attorney Brett Sagel of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case. www.safemedicines.org