EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An alert has been issued for unusual overdose activity in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County after seven reported drug overdoses, including two deaths, since Sunday, Aug. 17, the Las Cruces Police Department said in a press release.
Police say both fatal overdoses happened within the Las Cruces City limits and appeared to be unrelated. A 30-year-old man and a 26-year-old man died.
This month, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area for New Mexico (HIDTA) issued the alert and learned of 21 overdoses, with five being fatal in Doña Ana County, and most of those cases took place in Las Cruces.
Police say Narcan was administered in the two fatal overdoses.
“At this point, we have not received any drug test results, but fentanyl was the suspected drug in most of these cases. This is very unusual for Doña Ana County. We’ve also received reports from the New Mexico Crime Lab that carfentanil has been showing up in the drug supply, so it may be related to these overdoses.”
Drug Intelligence Officer for New Mexico HIDTA Kevin Renn
Carfentanil is a potent synthetic opioid that was originally designed as a tranquilizer for larger animals such as elephants. The opioid has not been approved for human consumption.
“Carfentanil is estimated to be 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. The high degree of potency of carfentanil makes it extremely easy to overdose on, even with minimal exposure.”
Las Cruces Police Department
The HIDTA provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, police said.
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