Police warn fentanyl-laced drugs found in Kodiak

Daysha Eaton/KMXT

The drug fentanyl recently turned up in Kodiak during a routine police investigation.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is many times more potent than heroin.

Pharmaceutical use of fentanyl is legal. However, illegal possession and distribution of fentanyl is related to an increasing number of accidental overdoses in the United States.

Fentanyl is sometimes added, police say, in small amounts to heroin or other drugs to increase their potency.

A spokesperson for the Kodiak Police Department says they discovered fentanyl-laced capsules on Monday, August 20 during follow-up investigations related to a string of recent burglaries.

A search conducted of a private residence in the Aleutian Homes area, they say, yielded plain white capsules believed to contain controlled substances.

Police say field tests identified the powder as containing fentanyl.

This is not the first time law enforcement has encountered fentanyl on the island. They are telling the public to be aware and use caution.

Police say ingesting a pin-head sized amount of fentanyl can be fatal, and if people think they’ve come in contact with it, they should seek medical treatment.

KPD is sending a sample of the fentanyl-laced capsules they found in Kodiak to the state crime lab for further testing and verification.