Primera man arrested on drug charges as police investigate fentanyl deaths

By
Fernando Del Valle
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FILE – A vial containing 2mg of fentanyl, is displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Sterling, Va., Aug. 9, 2016. The US is announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against 14 people and 14 firms across China and Canada related to the import of fentanyl into the United States. It’s one of the biggest actions the Biden administration has taken against the trafficking of the deadly drug. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

PRIMERA — Harlingen police Friday arrested a man during a raid on a Primera home where they netted more than 45 grams of fentanyl amid the area’s biggest outbreak of the powerful opioid they blame for eight area deaths.

On Friday afternoon, officials were withholding the man’s name pending his arraignment on “multiple felony possession of narcotics charges” and child endangerment, a press release stated.

More arrests are expected as authorities track down the source of what they believe has been fentanyl-spiked cocaine and crack.

“This is part of it,” Sgt. Larry Moore said in an interview. “We’re still connecting pieces and information. We’re going to further the investigation.”

At about 10:15 a.m. Friday, the Harlingen police department’s SWAT team along with its organized crime unit joined DEA agents and Primera police officers in the raid of a home on Dolores Street, where they arrested the man while seizing more than 45 grams of fentanyl, 4.57 grams of methamphetamine, 0.714 grams of crack cocaine and 1.25 ounces of marijuana, officials stated in a press release.

Earlier this week, Moore said an investigation was expected to lead to “multiple” arrests, including those of a main drug supplier along with distributors.

Those arrested could face homicide charges if their victims died, Deputy Police Chief Alfredo Alvear said in an earlier interview.

Meanwhile, the Harlingen area’s death toll stood at eight, with 12 known overdoses since the outbreak began exploding Oct. 2.

Investigators believe some dealers are spiking powder cocaine and crack cocaine with fentanyl to lure more addicts, creating a deadly mix, Alvear said.

Police believe fentanyl is behind the deaths based on their high numbers, he said.

FILE – The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Dec. 4, 2018, in Philadelphia. San Francisco is amid a drug overdose epidemic and could become the first in the country to require every pharmacy within its boundaries to always carry naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids. San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will introduce a bill Tuesday, June 27, 2023, that if approved, would require every pharmacy in the city to always have in stock at least two nasal sprays containing the drug or face fines. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

As little as two milligrams of fentanyl, an opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, makes the drug deadly, Alvear said.

Now, authorities are awaiting autopsy results.

Since Oct. 2, the South Texas Emergency Care Foundation has responded to eight Harlingen area deaths and 12 overdoses in which paramedics used Narcan, an over-the-counter medication used to reverse or reduce opioid effects, to resuscitate victims, Rene Perez, the agency’s transport director, said.

Perez is urging residents to administer Narcan to fentanyl overdose victims to help resuscitate them.

Within Harlingen’s city limits, the outbreak has led to four deaths and six known overdoses, Alvear said.

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