Category: Media Coverage

Drug bust with enough fentanyl to kill millions has NC connection

Enough fentanyl to kill nearly 3 million people was seized in two separate drug busts with connections to North Carolina this past month.

The fentanyl crisis is at an all-time high, with the southern border crisis intensifying since the Biden Administration took office in 2021.

The first and biggest bust occurred on Oct. 12 when Mario Alberto Castro Solache, 29, of Raleigh; Pedro Mondragon, 27, of Lillington; and Ignacio Rodriguez, 28, Bradenton, Florida, were arrested in connection to the largest drug bust in the history of Polk County, Florida.

Florida officials announced the arrests on Oct. 22.

Investigators seized 11 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 2.7 million people.

Operation Hot Dirt began in September when detectives were tipped off to drug traffickers’ plans to smuggle fentanyl from Mexico to Bradenton, Florida, and then into Polk County. 

Read the full article on the Carolina Journal web site.

Families Sue Snapchat Over Drug Dealing: An Overview

On October 13, 2022 the Social Media Victims Law Center and C.A. Goldberg, PLLC  filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Snap, Inc. on behalf of the families of Alexander Neville, Daniel Puerta, Jeff Johnston, Jr., Dylan Kai Sarantos, Devin Norring, Jack McCarthy, Alexandra Capelouto, and Daniel (Elijah) Figueroa. These teenagers and young adults are eight among hundreds who have died after taking pills purchased from drug dealers operating on Snapchat.

Also included in the suit are the parents of a 16-year-old who survived fentanyl pill poisoning and continues to use the app.

More details can be found on the Parternership for Safe Medicines web site.

Widow and mother of late MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs speak out against fentanyl

For the first time on camera, the widow of Tyler Skaggs and his mother are sharing their story of loss after the 2019 death of the Los Angeles Angels pitcher. Skaggs was just 27 years old when he was found dead in his hotel room after taking fentanyl-laced oxycodone on the road with his team.

Over three years after Tyler Skaggs’ death, his wife, Carli Skaggs, and mother, Debbie Hetman, spoke to ABC News about what justice looks like to their family.

Read the full article on the Good Morning America web site.

Substance use disorder stigma impacts individuals, families

Lori Ashenfelder, whose son died last year from fentanyl, said substance use and its impact on a family are very difficult to talk about.

“You tend to stay isolated, a lot more than you normally would,” she said. “For me, it was a lot about staying in the shadows, staying in the background, don’t talk about it.”

Last Thursday, the CARE Coalition of Transylvania County hosted“Transylvania CARES: Stories of Addiction and Hope” at the library to share the many unexpected ways substance use disorder stigma impacts the lives of individuals and their families.

Read the full article on the Transylvania Times web site.

Download Article PDF

Woman arrested in connection with drug overdose in Sanford

SANFORD, N.C. — A woman was charged Wednesday with death by distribution years after a man who suffered a drug overdose was found dead in the woods.

On Sept. 28, 2020, deputies with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a Sanford home after receiving a call about a missing person. Deputies searched land and water around the home for Cory Dale Moore, 32, but were unsuccessful.

Read article and watch video clip on WRAL web site or the article on the CBS17 web site.

Download Article PDF

Rainbow fentanyl concealed in LEGO box in NYC

Authorities find 15,000 rainbow fentanyl pills in Lego box, largest seizure of the drug in NYC history, DEA says

Federal authorities have accused a New Jersey woman of concealing approximately 15,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills in a Lego box as part of a drug trafficking scheme, in what US Drug Enforcement Administration authorities said in a news release is the largest seizure of the drug in New York City history.

Latesha Bush, 48, pleaded not guilty last week at an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, a spokesperson for the prosecutor said. She was charged with one count of first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to a criminal complaint.

Read the full article on CNN.com.

Download Article PDF

Sen. Chuck Schumer wants $290M to help fight deadly ‘rainbow fentanyl’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he wants almost $300 million in federal funding to fight “rainbow fentanyl” — highly-addictive pills that look like candy and could have a devastating effect on young people.

The $290 million in funds would be used to sustain 61 Overdose Response Strategy teams that would help try to curb fentanyl, including the new “rainbow” kind, the New York Democrat said at a press conference.

“This is fentanyl, this is a Sweetart — you tell me the difference,” Schumer said while holding up pictures of both the deadly pills and the tangy sweets. “Halloween is coming up… this is really worrisome and really dangerous.”

Read the full article on the NY Post web site.

Download Article PDF

Anti-fentanyl groups with local ties rally in Washington

Sep. 21—WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patricia Drewes joined anti-fentanyl advocates from across the country Saturday to demand greater effort from the federal government in addressing the ongoing fentanyl crisis.

Drewes co-founded Forgotten Victims of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren Counties, which last month held a similar rally in Raleigh.

Read the full article on the Henderson Dispatch web site (subscription required) or on Yahoo News.

DOWnload ARTICLE PDF
Translate »