Customs and Quarantine raise awareness on fake pills laced with fentanyl

Disguised as normal prescription pills like oxycodone or xanax, there are fake pills that hide a deadly secret.

“What we’re seeing now is the Mexican cartels are pressing these pills and they’re pressing them to look like counterfeit or fake pills. A lot of the users don’t know how much fentanyl is in it or that it even has fentanyl,” Customs Capt. Franklin Gutierrez said. 

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, roughly 70% of seized pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. 

As KUAM reported, Guam Customs and Quarantine intercepted 11 pounds of these so-called ‘fentapills’ at the Barrigada Post Office in March. 

Captain Gutierrez with the agency’s special enforcement division said there have been several more seizures since then that are still undergoing testing at DEA. 

“We believe it is a big concern. Our agency is trying to be on top of this emerging trend,” said Gutierrez. 

It’s a dangerous trend killing young students nationwide. 

“I recently attended a fentanyl summit last month in California. One of the biggest takeaway from that training was that a lot of the deaths were minor, from 10 years old to 12 years old. These were middle school to high school kids,” he added. 

As little as 2 mg worth of fentanyl, the amount on a tip of a pencil, or just one pill can kill. 

The agency intercepted 119 pills suspected to be laced with fentanyl this year alone. 

Seven deaths in the last four years were classified as fentanyl-related overdoses on Guam, according to the Governor. 

Custom officers are the first line of defense from this illicit drug breaching our borders, but agency Director Ike Peredo admits he needs more manpower. 

“We need more officers. My target is 250 officers. We are down to 140,” Peredo said. “Retention is a big problem for our agency and in trying to maintain the numbers that we need. But we are moving forward. I can say that within the next few weeks we will be testing 30 additional recruits to improve our capacity.”

30 additional officers and five more drug detector dogs are on the way to boost their capabilities. 

Still, education and public awareness is key. 

“We need the community’s parents to talk to their kids to understand the dangers of fentanyl. If you go on the DEA website, they have the One Pill Can Kill campaign that’s out,” said Gutierrez. “It's very concerning. I have kids of my own. This is our island and we want to protect it as much as we can.”

If you know someone trying to bring in or deal any illicit drug, you can make an anonymous tip to their 24 hour dispatch at 671-642-8071/2.