pressed pill Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina fentvic.org

September 21, 2026: Pill press bill passes House as owners of LFA Machines arrested

Read the original article on the Partnership for Safe Medicines website.

Three senior employees of a pill press company have been arrested as the U.S. House unanimously passes the Stop Pills That Kill Act.

Two principal managers and one former long-time employee at LFA Machines, a company selling pill presses and tableting machines, have been arrested. Federal investigators say years-long investigations have not only led to the seizure of the company’s machines at clandestine labs nationwide, but also allege the men sold products to consumers knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to manufacture counterfeit pills. In August, an Arizona grand jury indicted LFA Machines and the three men on six counts that each carry a maximum penalty of four years in prison and fines.

This comes as the U.S. House unanimously passed the Stop Pills That Kill Act (H.R. 8005), legislation that is aimed at disrupting the use of these illicit pill presses to manufacture counterfeit pills. The bill would require pill presses and key components to be serialized, strengthen penalties for removing identifiers or knowingly supplying equipment for illegal drug production, and direct the DEA to develop a strategy addressing counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other dangerous substances. The legislation comes amid continued pill press seizures nationwide, including 13 states identified in PSM’s latest report and 29 machines seized by the DEA during a recent enforcement initiative.

Continue reading the article on the Partnership for Safe Medinces website.

Police, federal agents make rare fentanyl lab bust; 2 arrested

Read the original article and watch the video on the WSOCTV9 website.

STANLEY, N.C. — Gastonia Police Vice detectives, working with federal partners, said they made a rare bust after dismantling a major fentanyl pill manufacturing lab in Stanley.

The six-month undercover investigation led to the seizure of more than 10,000 fentanyl pills, two pill press machines, and the arrests of two men, Gastonia police said.

The operation, conducted on Thursday led authorities to a residence on Bennington Drive in Stanley.

Inside, investigators discovered a highly contaminated environment, necessitating the use of hazmat protection for evidence collection.

The investigation, known as operation Blue Hammer, led to the seizure of two portable pill press machines used to manufacture counterfeit fentanyl-laced pills.

It’s rare to seize a functioning lab, police said.

The estimated street value of the seized narcotics is between $300,000 and $400,000.

Two suspects, Phillip McGill, Jr., 29, and Tryiq Curry, 27, were arrested and are being held on a $1 million bond each.

Charges are pending as the investigation continues.

Gastonia Police Chief Trent Conard praised the operation, stating, “This case represents months of meticulous, coordinated work between our detectives and our federal and local partners. Fentanyl has taken too many lives and destroyed too many families.”

Gaston County District Attorney Travis Page commended the agencies involved, saying, “I want to commend the Gastonia Police Department and our federal partners for their unrelenting efforts to eradicate fentanyl from our community.”

The Gastonia Police Department extended special thanks to their federal partners, Stanley Police Department, Gaston County Police Department, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for their vital assistance in this investigation.

The fake pill trade hasn’t gone away

The Partnership for Safe Medicines has updated their handout which explains what a pill press is and how fake pills are made.

This easy to understand handout can be used to educate people about the risks of counterfeit pills.

Family navigates grief a year after son’s death

Barry and Lisa Bennett hold a graduation photo of their son, 22-year-old Mason Bennett, who died a year ago Thursday. Olivia Neeley | Times

After a fleeting moment of peace each morning, it doesn’t take long for the gut-wrenching reality to set in for Lisa Bennett.

“When you go to sleep and you wake up … you have this brief second where you think everything is fine and (then) it hits you over and over again, day after day,” she said through tears.

For Bennett, her reality is facing yet another day without her 22-year-old son, Mason Bennett. Thursday marks the first anniversary of his death. Bennett contends he died after taking what he believed was a 30 mg Percocet, a prescription painkiller.

“It wasn’t a Percocet,” Bennett said. “It was a pressed pill, which is mostly what’s being sold now. There was nothing else in it other than cocaine and fentanyl.”

Eight months after Mason’s death, Wilson police charged 21-year-old Claire Brittle in connection with his death. Brittle faces a felony death by distribution charge as well as several drug-related charges.

Police said Brittle was “responsible for selling the victim narcotics at the time of his death,” according to a Wilson Police Department press release. When police arrested Brittle in October, they found various drugs in her home, including “85 dosage units of pressed Percocet pills,” according to arrest warrants.

Brittle was also charged with felony possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. Arrest warrants indicate that charge relates to fentanyl possession.