Staying Steady
Despite a war on drugs being waged valiantly across the country for years by law enforcement, elected officials, medical professionals and community stakeholders, the battle still continues. Moreover, one deadly foe refuses to go away. In fact, fentanyl’s usage continues to steadily rise.
According to a recent combined annual report by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy and the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy, the Kentucky State Police laboratories saw 3,863 fentanyl submissions in 2019. That’s 483 additional submissions from the year prior. For reference, in 2010, the same labs only saw 16 submissions.
Director of the Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force Mark Burden said he first noticed the uptick in Kentucky fentanyl use spike in 2015, and it remains the substance most likely to be linked to overdose deaths.
Yet the drug’s use isn’t new. In addition to fentanyl having a legitimate use within the medical community as a high-powered pain reliever, DOCJT Instructor Walt Ridner adds that, along with the much stronger carfentanil, had hit U.S. streets by the 1970s. However, since then, dealers have become more nuanced and have taken to new strategies to hide their illicit career and feed the country’s deadly habits.
Be aware of buzzwords and other things to know
Fire, hot, heat, pure and China white are among the slang terms officers might hear from dealers and informants when dealing with fentanyl. And much like the many names it’s known by, when identifying the drug, Burden says forget consistency
“We have (seen) drug traffickers use food coloring to change the color or some other substance,” he said. “You may think you have something else and it end up being fentanyl.”
Additionally, the drug is often cut into other substances including methamphetamine, heroin and even marijuana. Recently, Burden said his agency is seeing an alarming trend of fentanyl being pressed into pills specifically mimicking those of the prescription variety, such as Xanax and Percocet.
Making it work together
“There are several ways to attack (narcotics investigation and enforcement),” said Ridner, noting that while it’s an individual agency’s call, working a fentanyl or carfentanil case undercover is usually an unsafe option and shouldn’t be the only tool in the toolbox.
“Probably one of the best options is to work with your community groups and find out where most of this stuff is and where (dealing) is happening in your (area), and then target those spots with traffic stops, and getting out and talking with people,” Ridner continued. “A lot of it has to do with educating the public about the dangers of these drugs. The third way is to work with your community in finding ways to treat addiction. If you don’t curb the addiction side of this, it’s never going to end. (Users are) just going to go to another drug, one that is going to give them the same effect.”
As far as citizen interaction, one method Ridner said is often successful is community meetings. While some citizens might attend solely to complain about messy neighbors and garbage pickup woes, if a good dialogue begins, it can be incredibly informative regarding drugs and violence.
The narcotics investigation instructor added that he is a fan of drug interdiction (interrupting drug trade), allowing officers to stop drugs before they enter into their communities. Often this requires agencies from multiple communities to work together to accomplish this task, as well as officers learning the indicators of those who might be transporting or selling drugs. Mail interdiction should also be on the radar as officers are finding many illicit substances being transported via mail.
“If you want to be successful, you want to coordinate with other agencies,” added Burden, noting this allows resources to be compiled and prevents agencies from unknowingly working the same case outside of collaboration.
Communication also prevents confusion and adds another layer of safety by allowing each department to know if they have officers working undercover.
Staying safe
To keep it safe, both men shared safety measures that should always be considered.
“Number one is never try to work alone (whether that is working with an informant or making a buy). You always need to have some sort of operations plan in place if you are going to go out and make an undercover buy and make sure everyone who is going to be on backup with you is on board with (that plan),” advised Ridner. “The days of going out and buying off the street on your own are over. There are people out there robbing other dealers. There is always the potential of violence. So if you’re out there on your own, you’re on your own. Working with other officers is one of the best things you can do.”
Additionally, officers should make sure they are identified as the police when they are conducting search warrants, as well as making sure no one is following them home at night and having nitrile gloves and an N95 mask on hand when handling potential fentanyl or carfentanil, said Ridner. Protective gowns/suites are advisable if possible.
“Regardless of whatever kind of drug you find today, you need to start wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) of some sort,” said Ridner, noting how many less lethal drugs are being laced with either fentanyl or carfentanil these days. “Even if you just have nitrile gloves. If it’s all you’ve got, it’s all you’ve got, but make sure you’ve got it.”
Burden added Narcan should also always be on hand, not just for the subject, but also for officer safety. To utilize Narcan and administer other life-saving aid, it is also important to know the signs of an overdose, as accidental contact via the eyes, notes lips, cracks in the skin and through the airways can occur.
“Fentanyl is a respiratory suppressant, so you would see someone who is having trouble breathing,” Burden explained. “They could be drowsy, confused or sedated. They could also be unconscious or nauseous.”
To safely transport drug evidence, as of most agencies will be asked to do, officers should consider where they are going to store it, how they are going to package it and how they are going to transport to the lab. According to Ridner, the Drug Enforcement Administration currently recommends suspected fentanyl to be placed in arson cans (that resemble small paint cans) for storage and transport. However, when arson cans aren’t available, officers are taught they should always double bag the substance and then put it in some form of envelope and mark it as a biohazard, he added.
Agencies must also come up with a storage location for controlled substances. Many smaller agencies likely won’t have a drug vault at their disposal, however, most will have access to a file cabinet that can be locked and clearly marked so officers will know they don’t need to interact with it without proper PPE.
Special consideration should be taken during transport of strong drugs. If something as strong as carfentanil is stored in a paper bag in the back of a cruiser, what happens if the operating officer is involved in a vehicle collision and the substance is spread all over the interstate, questioned Ridner.
“You can do something simple. Get a hard case, lock it up and mark it as a biohazard, and for the most part, that stuff is going to stay intact,” he said.
Another safety measure is simply being aware by maintaining training, noted Ridner, as well as keeping up with drug trends in each agency’s jurisdiction.
