Man had over 200 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription painkiller in MA, feds say
A man was found with over 200 blue pills in his backpack that were disguised as a prescription painkiller in Massachusetts — but they were actually the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty to fentanyl possession with the intent to distribute on March 25, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release.
This comes as fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S. have been rising “at an alarming rate,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned on Feb. 16. The drug is “about 100 times more potent” than morphine.
Diamondez Pierre, 24, of Boston, was found with pressed fentanyl pills specifically “disguised as ‘Perc 30’ oxycodone pills” in 2020, the office said. Oxycodone is an opioid that can be legally prescribed by a doctor to help manage pain.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney for comment on March 28 and was awaiting a response.
In August 2020, police stopped and searched Pierre’s car in Brockton where they found the pills as well as a loaded gun, prosecutors said.
Just 2 mg of fentanyl could potentially kill someone, according to the DEA. “Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers have been mixing fentanyl with other drugs” and “42% of pills tested for fentanyl contained at least 2 mg.”
Prior to Pierre’s arrest, he “was previously convicted in a court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year,” according to court documents obtained by McClatchy News.
During this case, he remained in custody until trial, and his attorney had previously requested his release three times citing COVID-19 concerns, court documents show. His attorney said he “suffers from” sickle cell disease and asthma, which put him at greater risk if he were to be infected by the virus.
The most recent request for release was denied on Jan. 10, according to court documents.
“Possession with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million,” the attorney’s office noted in the release. Pierre’s sentencing is scheduled for July 22.
In 2021, the DEA seized more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills in the U.S., “which is more than the last two years combined,” an agency fact sheet said. “They often appear identical to legitimate prescription pills.”
Additionally, “a significant number of high school and college students purchase Adderall and Xanax from dark web drug markets and/or through social media referrals, which market deadly versions of these drugs tainted with fentanyl and/or methamphetamine,” according to the fact sheet.
Fentanyl itself “has a legitimate medical use” and is “typically used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain following surgery,” the DEA notes.
There have been several youth fentanyl overdose deaths over the past year, McClatchy News previously reported. In New Jersey, a 12-year-old boy died from a fentanyl overdose, and his uncle was charged in connection with his death on March 21, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
From 2019 to 2020, drug deaths of children ages 10 to 14 tripled, CNN reported based on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis conducted for the outlet.
Illegal fentanyl is typically made outside the U.S. and smuggled through Mexico for distribution across the country, according to the DEA.
“Too many people in our area are still unaware of the problem,” Jarod Forget, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s Washington division, said in a statement regarding fatal overdoses.
Another Massachusetts man was arrested on March 25, the same day Pierre pleaded guilty, after 100,000 suspected fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone were found in his apartment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Man had over 200 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription painkiller in MA, feds say."
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