Fentanyl-laced pills kill teens in metro Atlanta

MARIETTA, Ga. — The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said that in 2023, the agency seized a record 79.5 million fentanyl pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder across the country.

“Unfortunately, the metro Atlanta area plays a key role in this case, as we are the hub of most drug entry and exit and money flowing back to the Mexican cartels,” said Special Agent in charge Robert Murphy.

Murphy said two of the largest cartels, the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel, smuggle drugs across the border, including fentanyl, which ends up in Georgia’s schools and streets.

On May 3, Murphy said the Atlanta Field Division seized a large quantity of fentanyl at an undisclosed location in Marietta.

“In Marietta, we seized propelled fentanyl from the CJNG operation,” he said.

RELATED: Incident report details rescue efforts for Dunwoody teen who died at school

Murphy said the dyed powder was smuggled across the border in car batteries.

“I can’t tell you how many thousands of lives we saved, but we did,” he said.

The DEA said the 25 pounds could have produced about 11 million pills.

“I don’t think kids are looking for it, but that’s the reality of taking a pill on the street these days: You’re more than likely going to take fentanyl,” Murphy said.

New statistics released by the DEA show that 22 adolescents aged 14 to 18 die each week from drug overdoses or poisonings.

Murphy said the majority of these teens’ deaths are linked to fentanyl.

“Of the pills we seize and send to our lab for analysis, seven out of 10 contain a lethal dose of fentanyl,” he said.

Many pills are dyed in bright colors, called “rainbow fentanyl,” deliberately intended to target young people. The fake pills are disguised as Adderall, Oxycodone and Xanax.

“It’s in every school,” Murphy said, later adding, “they (kids) aren’t afraid of it because it’s a pill.”

An epidemic that leaves thousands of families heartbroken. Many families in metro Atlanta are seeing the impact of this deadly drug firsthand.

“I lost my 21-year-old son last year in June to Fentanyl poisoning,” Chimere Conner said.

Crispus LaShon Conner was a 2020 graduate of Shiloh High School in Gwinnett County.

“He had a very bright future ahead of him,” Conner said.

However, his life was cut short on June 17, 2023.

Conner said his son thought he was taking a Xanax, which he had received from a trusted friend.

“…which cost him his life in less than thirty seconds,” she said.

Conner said she found her son on the floor next to her bed.

“He still had half a pill stuck between his lips.” she says.

Shon hadn’t even swallowed the pill. Conner said it was so powerful that it killed him within 30 seconds of touching his lips.

“He died instantly,” she said.

Conner is now on a mission to help prevent other parents from having to bury their children because of this deadly drug.

“You can’t trust anything on the street,” she said.

As for why fentanyl is so prevalent in this country and the metro Atlanta area, the DEA said the cartel makes a lot of money from it.

“It’s cheaper to make, it’s cost effective, you don’t have to worry about growing seasons, climates and the cartels can control everything,” Murphy explained.

Murphy said their agency considered this a threat to national security. And when it comes to drugs, it’s the biggest threat he’s ever seen since he joined the agency in 1997.

“We’re losing over 300 Americans a day, it’s a tragic and incredible problem,” he said.

A problem right in our backyard in Atlanta.

“The quantities we’re seizing in Atlanta, we haven’t seen in several years. We’ve made progress and now we’re going backwards,” Murphy said.

A direction that will cost more lives.

Conner said parents need to talk with their children and tell them to stop taking these pills off the street.

What many parents and teens haven’t heard of is something called the “chocolate chip effect.”

Chemists don’t make these fake pills. Fentanyl is not mixed evenly when pressed into pill form.

Just like a chocolate chip cookie, if you split a fake pill in half, one side may contain all of the fentanyl (chocolate chips), while the other side may contain none. This means, for example, that if your child shares what they believe to be Adderall with a friend, their friend might be fine, while your child goes into cardiac arrest and dies.

Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl, the equivalent of 10 to 15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.