TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — After two people in their 20s died, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is testing oxycodone pills that may have been laced with fentanyl, authorities said.
The Travis County Sheriff's Office said in a press release May 18 that two different people in their 20s have died in two separate incidents. In both cases, the sheriff's office said, "counterfeit oxycodone pills that are suspected to contain fentanyl were found."
The first incident happened on May 14 and the second incident happened on May 17.
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The sheriff's office is warning the public that pills of this sort could be deadly. The TCSO shared photos of the pills:
While the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office works on a final autopsy report to determine the official cause of death of the two people who died, the DEA is assisting in the investigation. The DEA is testing the pills to confirm that they were laced with fentanyl.
In April, KVUE reported that overdose calls spiked. In Austin-Travis County, medics responded to at least 10 – and up to 15 – times more overdose calls than normal, which is about one per day. In all of the cases, it’s reported that prescription drugs are being sold as oxycodone or Xanax, but the pressed pills are especially potent because they are laced with fentanyl.
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