By Associated Press - Friday, February 19, 2021

LAS VEGAS (AP) - About 50,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl were seized this week during the arrests of three people in the Las Vegas area, federal authorities said.

A Drug Enforcement Administration statement did not identify the three “non-U.S. citizens” arrested Wednesday by DEA agents and North Las Vegas police on conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.

A DEA photo showed in a KTNV-TV report depicted blue pills that look like 30-milligram doses of oxycodone, marked with variations of “M-30.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids the primary driver behind the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis.

Las Vegas has experienced nearly a 31% increase in overdose and other drug-related deaths from 2019 to 2020, the DEA said, and deaths involving fentanyl almost doubled.

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