Three arrested after customs seize fentanyl pills
(CNS): Two Jamaican men aged 47 and 38 and a 32-year-old Caymanian woman, all living in East End, were arrested last week on suspicion of importing 200 fentanyl tablets after customs officers seized an incoming parcel at the Airport Post Office containing the potent synthetic opioid some ten days ago.
CBC Director Charles Clifford sounded the alarm, saying in a press release that it was “very worrying that we continue to see the deadly drug” being imported into Cayman.
“It is well known that drug dealers will mix this drug with other street drugs prior to sale and therefore the consumer is sometimes unaware that they are consuming a cocktail of drugs that could instantly kill them,” Clifford said. “Consuming Fentanyl, even in a very minute quantity, can be fatal.”
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 71,238 Fentanyl overdose deaths in the US in 2021. Users and handlers of Fentanyl have been known to experience symptoms such as haemorrhaging, severe physical pain and organ failure, which often lead to death. The drug is sometimes disguised in unassuming shapes and colours but can come in many forms, including tablets, powder, crystals and liquid.
Officials said the drug not only presents a serious health and safety risk for users but also for the welfare of law enforcement personnel at the border and elsewhere who in the daily course of their duties, put themselves in harm’s way when handling such illicit and deadly drugs.
Customs has previously seized other controlled drugs that were infused or tainted with more lethal substances, such as Fentanyl. Officials said in the release that this case remains under investigation and that frontline teams will continue their efforts using all available means to respond to border threats and drugs.
Border Control Minister Chris Saunders commended the officers who found the package. “Such a seizure shows that we are diligently protecting our borders on all fronts. I encourage everyone to take the time out to familiarise themselves with this deadly drug and remain vigilant at all times,” he added.
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Thank you CBC! Please keep up the good work!
It is not understood why a drug dealer would want to potentially mix Fentanyl with other drugs, even if it might be highly addictive, if it might kill someone that consumes it.
It is understood that mixing Fentanyl with other drugs could assist getting drug dealers’ customers hooked (because of how addictive it is). However, if it could literally kill customers, then dead customers cannot pay anymore (because they are deceased).
This just doesn’t seem logical, even by trying to think of the viewpoint of a drug dealer, who is trying to maximize profit, if it can literally kill the persons that make up this illegal market (as consumers).
Whatever the reasoning, it is hoped that Fentanyl does not make its way onto to the streets prevalently, because this is simply a danger to society at large.
Good job, CBC, for catching this Fentanyl before it made its way onto the streets, where all it would do is destroy people’s lives and take the lives of those who use it and potentially those who might not intend to use it (such as a child thinking it might be candy).
The Fentanyl tablets (in the news article photo) look like something that children could mistake for a candy.
This is very concerning because Fentanyl is dangerous enough as it is, without the added danger that it could (depending on it form) be viewed as potentially aesthetically enticing to children.
Rare occasion of CBC doing a good job. Keep Fentanyl off the streets.
gone are the days of recreational drug use, this stuff will kill you.
keep it up guys