Over 22,000 fake oxycodone pills seized by DEA in DeKalb County

A raid by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has taken over 22,000 fake oxycodone pills off the streets of DeKalb County.

The bust happened on June 26.

The pills are believed to contain deadly fentanyl.

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DEA Atlanta Field Division Deputy Special Agent Jae Chung says had they hit the streets, a lot of people might have died.

Chung says last year, seven of 10 fake pills with fentanyl tested at the DEA lab contained enough fentanyl to kill.

“Which is two milligrams, which is basically a pinch of salt, grains of salt that can sit on the tip of a pencil,” Chung told Channel 2′s Mark Winne.

The DEA lab will have to test the pills seized last week to determine how much fentanyl is in them.

Agents expected to find 2,000 pills on June 26 as part of an investigation of a polydrug, transnational organization allegedly headed by Yovanni Rodriguez.

But instead, they got 22,000 pills and arrested four other people besides Rodriguez.

Two of those arrested had guns.

“Our investigation is still ongoing but I suspect these pills were probably manufactured in Mexico,” Chung said.

Mike O’Kelley says his son Jack, a UGA student with a high GPA and a Zell Miller scholarship, died of a fentanyl overdose after taking a counterfeit Xanax pill while home on Thanksgiving break last year.

The O’Kelley family has made it their mission to spread the word about the danger of taking pills when you don’t know where they originated.

“Fentanyl overdoses do not discriminate. It comes toward all types of people – higher education, lower education,” O’Kelley said. “You are playing Russian roulette.”

“Between the ages of 18 and 45, the greatest threat in that age range isn’t gun violence or car accidents. It’s fentanyl,” Chung said. “40% of Americans now know someone who’s been impacted by fentanyl (died).”

Chung says fentanyl is pervasive on Georgia streets even if drug consumers often don’t know that’s what they’re getting.

“Fentanyl is also laced in fake Xanax pills, Adderall pills, hydrocodone pills,” Chung said. “Fentanyl and the dangers of fentanyl and the fake pills and drug poisonings have to be a kitchen table discussion.”

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“Don’t be afraid to talk to your kids about it. Start early because if you don’t talk to them, somebody else will,” O’Kelley said.

Chung says fentanyl turned up mixed with heroin long ago, but now it is mixed in meth, cocaine, and many kinds of pills.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said Rodriguez is currently held in the DeKalb County Jail.

Winne tried to locate an attorney for Rodriguez so we could seek a response to his charges, but we were unable to locate one.

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