By Katelyn Aluise, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — West Virginians should be aware of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, experts say, after a large batch of “rainbow fentanyl” pills resembling candy was seized by officers with the Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force in Morgantown last month, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney William Thompson, who serves the Southern District of West Virginia, said while he has not seen these pills resembling candy in the Southern District yet, he expects to see them in the near future.
“We’re preparing basically by making law enforcement aware of it if they do come across it. We’ve pushed out some information of what it looks like, what to expect,” he said. “It is fentanyl, which we’re dealing with fentanyl on a daily basis anyway, so we’ve got a standard set up for how we want to handle those.”
Thompson said there has been a lot of information shared from the Drug Enforcement Administration to help educate local police officers on the pills, and they are making an effort to figure out where the fentanyl supply is coming from…