Counterfeit Pills Laced With Fentanyl Have Reportedly Been Circulating Around Lincoln

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Police.

LINCOLN–(KFOR May 6)–Lincoln Police are warning you about pills laced with Fentanyl that are circulating around the city and other areas of southeast Nebraska.

On Thursday, Officer Luke Bonkiewicz said their Narcotics Unit is seeing an increased number of counterfeit pills on the streets, specifically, investigators are recovering pills that look like Oxycodone, but are really Fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Depending on the amount, Bonkiewicz says just touching a pill or powder containing Fentanyl can cause an overdose.

So far in 2021, there have been 50 overdoses in total in Lincoln. In 2020, there were 34 overdoses during the same time period and in 2019, there were 32 overdoses in the same time frame. Officer Bonkiewicz said this data is not overdose deaths, rather just overdose cases.

The only way police will find out if a drug that caused the overdose was laced with Fentanyl following an autopsy.

If you or someone you know experiences a drug overdose, call 911 immediately. According to Nebraska Rev Statute 28-472, an individual is immune from criminal prosecution if the person, in good faith, makes a request for emergency medical assistance in response to a drug overdose and remains on scene until medical assistance and law enforcement arrive.