DEA arrests five in raid at East Central motel » Albuquerque Journal

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Authorities gather outside the Best Choice Inn after a Tuesday morning raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Drug Enforcement Administration and local authorities raided a southeast Albuquerque hotel Tuesday morning and arrested several people allegedly involved in the distribution of fentanyl disguised as painkillers.

Scott Garland, assistant special agent in charge with the DEA, said at least five arrests were made at the Best Choice Inn, near Central and Louisiana, as agents executed six arrest warrants around 10 a.m. Garland did not identify those arrested or say if agents seized any drugs, but he called the operation a success.

“This is not just a success for us today, this is great for Albuquerque,” he said. “This is something we all contend with. Not just living here, but in many cities in the U.S., there is this element that makes it unsafe.”

Garland said the Albuquerque Police Department, Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Attorney’s Office assisted in the raid, which wrapped up around noon and went off without a hitch.

He said the operation stemmed from a yearlong investigation by the DEA into dealers selling drugs out of the hotel — particularly fentanyl, disguised as oxycontin. Garland said overdoses in the Albuquerque area have been traced back to these particular pills, but would not say how many or if any resulted in death.

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“People think they know what they’re getting, which is kind of the worse part of it,” he said. “With this stuff, you take one pill and it can drop you like a bullet — you don’t have a chance, there are no take-backs.”

Garland said disguising pills as oxycontin, which has a higher street value, is increasing as dealers look to make more money off fentanyl.

“You might get one that does nothing or you might get one that kills you instantly,” he said, calling the prevalence of fentanyl a “public health crisis.”