Council Bluffs Police are warning residents about the potentially lethal drug Fentanyl after four people were found unresponsive Tuesday night after using the drug.
Sgt. Robert Christensen says just before 10:00 officers responded to a call that three people were unresponsive in and around a car parked at the D&S Express gas station near 25th and Avenue M.About 30 minutes later, Christensen says another call came in about another unresponsive person at a house near 25th and Avenue H.
In total three men and one woman were transported to the hospital for suspected overdoses of the synthetic opioid Fentanyl. One person has been released, but three people remain in the hospital for treatment.
The DEA reports that Fentanyl is 100 times as potent as morphine and can be absorbed by skin contact.
Christensen says if anyone encounters someone who may be using the potentially lethal drug, don't try to handle the situation alone. "Automatically call 911, and get somebody there and not to handle anything as far as packaging materials or drug related items just because of it being so lethal."
Although Fentanyl has been around for years, Christensen says they weren't sure until recently that the drug had made it's way onto the streets of Council Bluffs. "We've had some rumors of stuff that was going on, but we've never able to verify that, but right now as far as last night goes, obviously it is in the area. So we are going to have to look into this."
Fentanyl can be snorted, injected or administered through patches placed on the skin.