3 Arrested In Overdose Cases

They thought their usual dealers were selling them cocaine. Instead they purchased pure fentanyl — and overdosed.

That’s the latest word on why 17 people overdosed, three of them fatally, on a bad batch of drugs sold in New Haven last Thursday.

The cops arrested three New Haven men Monday evening for allegedly selling the white powder that led to some of those overdoses. The three appeared in federal court on Church Street Tuesday afternoon, as the government alleged that they sold their unwitting regular cocaine customers deadly fentanyl instead.

New Haven detectives worked alongside federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officers throughout the weekend to build intelligence and track the overdoses to the sales; city and state law enforcement have been working together as part of a U.S. Attorney-led task force to tackle an epidemic of opioid-induced overdoses in Connecticut. They seek to have alleged dealers arrested on federal rather than state charges in order to obtain lengthier prison sentences.

At first authorities thought that last Thursday’s New Haven overdoses stemmed from heroin laced with fentanyl, as so many others have. But it turns out, according to information released Tuesday, the government concluded that this case was different. Heroin wasn’t involved.

“Interviews conducted by the DEA and NHPD reveal that many or all of the victims believed the substance they were consuming was cocaine,” New Haven cop Allyn Wright, a deputized DEA task force member, wrote in an affidavit unsealed on Tuesday. The affidavit supports requested approval of a search warrant for the arrestees’ telephones; and supports the charges of possession with intent to distribute and of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

“However, based in part on DEA laboratory testing, it appears that the substance was pure fentanyl.”

Also, emergency workers used naloxone to treat some of the victims, a drug that works on opioids, not cocaine, according to the government.

The government charges the three arrestees, all of whom live in New Haven, with supplying the drug to at least 12 of the overdose victims, two of whom died.

Questions that remained unanswered Tuesday included: At what point in the distribution chain was fentanyl introduced into a cocaine distribution network? Did the New Haven dealers know they weren’t really selling cocaine?

And why would someone bother?

Law enforcement agents had not seen fentanyl involved in cocaine sales before. Like heroin, fentanyl is an opiate — only 50 times stronger than heroin. Dealers nationwide have increasingly used it to bolster the strength of heroin sold on the streets, leading to more overdoses.

Fentanyl, which comes in the form of white powder, looks like cocaine, but cocaine’s not an opiate. The high is different.

“This is new to us,” said Lt. Tony Reyes, who oversees major crime investigations.

This investigation is continuing.

“Twenties” & ​“Fifties”

The three arrestees — ages 48, 55, 57 — made consecutive brief appearances Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah A.L. Merriam. They were represented by public defenders or court-appointed private attorneys.

They didn’t enter pleas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Perry informed the court that the defendants face up to 20 years in jail and $1 million in fines for each of the two offenses with which they’re charged. He asked that they remain incarcerated for now, a request to which the defendants agreed and which the judge granted. She set tentative probable-cause hearings for July 12, unless by that time the feds succeed in having the defendants indicted. (For now, they were arrested based on Wright’s written complaint.)

Wright’s complaint offered some details of the investigation. It stated that agents interviewed several of the overdose victims as well as two confidential informants familiar with the drug transactions. They were allegedly able to track phone calls to the alleged dealers’ phones right before the transactions. Those interviewed identified the arrestees’ photos as belonging to the dealers, according to the complaint.

Two of the dealers, ​“Romie” and ​“Frank,” are business partners and have sold cocaine to the overdose victims up to 30 times before, according to the complaint; ​“Frank” sells ​“twenties” and ​“fifties” — cocaine packed in $20 and $50 bundles — near Newhallville’s Reliable Liquor Store on Dixwell Avenue. They ​“packaged their drugs in lottery tickets.” Cops found a fentanyl-sprinkled lottery ticket at the site of one of the overdoses, on Lander Street.

“Frank” recently himself landed in the hospital after trying ​“his own product,” according to the affidavit. (He also has served time for a prior federal drug conviction, according to U.S. Attorney spokesman Tom Carson.)

The third dealer, known on the street as ​“Steve,” had sold cocaine to one of last week’s victims ​“at least fifty times over the past two years” before last week’s fateful transaction, Wright wrote.

In his affidavit, Wright sought permission to search the three men’s cell phones because, he wrote, his experience tells him the phones may contain text messages, videos, and photos of co-conspirators as well as browsing history information that can advance the case. The judge approved the request.

Dangers To Cops

Meanwhile, the police department got the word out to officers that fentanyl poses an ​“unprecedented” health danger to them, too — merely because they might end up handling it.

Officer David Hartman Monday included the following cautionary article in the daily ​“flash sheet” he sends to officers:

Risks to Law Enforcement Fentanyl is not only dangerous for the drug’s users, but for law enforcement, public health workers and first responders who could unknowingly come into contact with it in its different forms. Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin or accidental inhalation of airborne powder can also occur. DEA is concerned about law enforcement coming in contact with fentanyl on the streets during the course of enforcement, such as a buy-walk, or buy-bust operation.

Just touching fentanyl or accidentally inhaling the substance during enforcement activity or field testing the substance can result in absorption through the skin and that is one of the biggest dangers with fentanyl. The onset of adverse health effects, such as disorientation, coughing, sedation, respiratory distress or cardiac arrest is very rapid and profound, usually occurring within minutes of exposure. Canine units are particularly at risk of immediate death from inhaling fentanyl. In August 2015, law enforcement officers in New Jersey doing a narcotics field test on a substance that later turned out to be a mix of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, were exposed to the mixture and experienced dizziness, shortness of breath and respiratory problems. If inhaled, move to fresh air, if ingested, wash out mouth with water provided the person is conscious and seek immediate medical attention. Narcan (Naloxone), an overdose-reversing drug, is an antidote for opiate overdose and may be administered intravenously, intramuscularly, or subcutaneously. Immediately administering Narcan can reverse an accidental overdose of fentanyl exposure to officers. Continue to administer multiple doses of Narcan until the exposed person or overdose victim responds favorably.

Field Testing / Safety Precautions Law enforcement officers should be aware that fentanyl and its compounds resemble powered cocaine or heroin, however, should not be treated as such.

If at all possible do not take samples if fentanyl is suspected. Taking samples or opening a package could stir up the powder. If you must take a sample, use gloves (no bare skin contact) and a dust mask or air purifying respirator (APR) if handling a sample, or a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for a suspected lab.

If you have reason to believe an exhibit contains fentanyl, it is prudent to not field test it. Submit the material directly to the laboratory for analysis and clearly indicate on the submission paperwork that the item is suspected of containing fentanyl. This will alert laboratory personnel to take the necessary safety precautions during the handling, processing, analysis, and storage of the evidence. Officers should be aware that while unadulterated fentanyl may resemble cocaine or heroin powder, it can be mixed with other substances which can alter its appearance. As such, officers should be aware that fentanyl may be smuggled, transported, and/or used as part of a mixture.

Universal precautions must be applied when conducting field testing on drugs that are not suspected of containing fentanyl. Despite color and appearance, you can never be certain what you are testing. In general, field testing of drugs should be conducted as appropriate, in a well ventilated area according to commercial test kit instructions and training received. Sampling of evidence should be performed very carefully to avoid spillage and release of powder into the air. At a minimum, gloves should be worn and the use of masks is recommended. After conducting the test, hands should be washed with copious amounts of soap and water. Never attempt to identify a substance by taste or odor. Historically, this is not the first time fentanyl has posed such a threat to public health and safety. Between 2005 and 2007, over 1,000 U.S. deaths were attributed to fentanyl – many of which occurred in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

The current outbreak involves not just fentanyl, but also fentanyl compounds. The current outbreak, resulting in thousands of deaths, is wider geographically and involves a wide array of individuals including new and experienced abusers.

In the last three years, DEA has seen a significant resurgence in fentanyl-related seizures. In addition, DEA has identified at least 15 other deadly, fentanyl-related compounds. Some fentanyl cases have been significant, particularly in the northeast and in California, including one 12 kilogram seizure. During May 2016, a traffic stop in the greater Atlanta, GA area resulted in the seizure of 40 kilograms of fentanyl – initially believed to be bricks of cocaine – wrapped into blocks hidden in buckets and immersed in a thick fluid. The fentanyl from these seizures originated from Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

Recent seizures of counterfeit or look-a-like hydrocodone or oxycodone tablets have occurred, wherein the tablets actually contain fentanyl. These fentanyl tablets are marked to mimic the authentic narcotic prescription medications and have led to multiple overdoses and deaths. According to DEA’s National Forensic Lab Information System, 13,002 forensic exhibits of fentanyl were tested by labs nationwide in 2015, up 65 percent from the 2014 number of 7,864. The 2015 number is also about 8 times as many fentanyl exhibits as in 2006, when a single lab in Mexico caused a temporary spike in U.S. fentanyl availability. This is an unprecedented threat.

Click on or download the above sound file to hear New Haven’s public health director, Byron Kennedy, discuss on WNHH radio’s ​“Dateline New Haven” program the public-health response last Thursday to the overdoses. Kennedy also discusses the city’s new ​“Easy Breezy” asthma summer camp as well as efforts to combat lead poisoning.

Alexandra Diaz contributed reporting.