(TheRedAlertNews.com) – Law enforcement officers have caught drug traffickers smuggling 15,000 fentanyl pills disguised as candy, leading a former top official of the DEA to warn parents to take quick action to educate their kids about the killer narcotic.
The seizure in Connecticut discovered the rainbow-colored fentanyl pills inside Skittles and Nerds packages just a few weeks before Halloween.
As a result, the Drug Enforcement Administration is cautioning parents that the candy disguise may not be just a trafficking technique. Instead, the smugglers may have intended to market the fentanyl directly to children.
Former DEA special operations chief Derek Maltz has sounded the alarm about how dangerous that could be for young teens.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented amount of kids dying as young as 13 years old,” Maltz told Fox News regarding the havoc that fentanyl has been wreaking on American communities.
“We know now, the DEA says, that 40% of the pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl,” he added.
The ex-DEA official pointed out that the Mexican drug cartels are now utilizing the widespread Internet addiction among teenagers and selling the drugs to them directly on social media.
He noted that children, who are getting targeted by drug dealers through social media platforms, may be clueless about fentanyl and its consequences.
“[Parents] have to be proactive. It’s deadly fentanyl, and it’s flooding our streets like we’ve never seen,” Maltz warned.
He urged parents to procure educational materials and information from the DEA and non-profit organizations to know what to watch out for ahead of Halloween.
The ex-DEA chief recommended that parents monitor and open any candy packages that may seem suspicious and call the police if they find any narcotics. He added that fentanyl ought to be removed and disposed of immediately.
“Stay away from it because it’s poison. It really is dangerous,” Maltz warned.
He also said schools should be involved in tackling the fentanyl addiction crisis and urged President Joe Biden’s administration to take actions in that regard “with a sense of urgency.”
Deaths from synthetic opioid drugs such as fentanyl in the United States stood at 6,000 in 2015, reaching 63,000 in 2021. Among those, fentanyl is the most frequent death cause.
There have been reports that morgues in some states have run out of space precisely because of fentanyl deaths.
“This is not a drug issue. It’s a mass poisoning… We’re losing a future generation — 300 a day,” Maltz emphasized.
Former DEA official warns parents after fentanyl found disguised in candy packaging: 'It's a mass poisoning' https://t.co/KwgeDBqvkw
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 27, 2022
