KCK police seize $100,000 in fentanyl during sweep of shipping facility

KANSAS CITY, Ks. (KCTV) - Kansas City, Kansas, police seized over 10,000 counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl last weekend, accounting for a street value of around $100,000.

The seizure occurred during a routine sweep of a local shipping distribution center, although police have not said exactly where the bust happened.

The KCKPD said the pills are nearly identical to those dispensed by pharmacies, but are cut with potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

“That’s 10,000 pills that are not in KCK,” said Capt. John Diaz with the department’s Narcotics Unit. “Right now, the DEA lab is testing these pills. When we get them, we send them to them. Six out of every 10 pills has a lethal amount of fentanyl in it, so you are talking 6,000 of those pills could have been deadly for someone to take.”

Last year, KCK recorded a record 174 overdoses, with 40 being fatal. The vast majority of those were related to fentanyl, police said. The previous year, there were 111 overdoses and 23 deaths.

“The KCKPD wants dealers and suppliers to know that Kansas City, Kansas, is not the place to be doing business,” said Capt. Diaz. “We are conducting routine sweeps with the assistance of drug-sniffing K-9s in a variety of facilities, including those that process packages. Last year, as part of the Violent Crimes Task Force, we seized about 150,000 pills and expect to seize even more in 2023.”