TDLPD makes fentanyl arrest | Daily Journal News

The report states that after stopping to check his well-being, the officer discovered that the man had an active warrant out of Festus for leaving the scene of an accident on the night prior.

The man was arrested on the warrant and upon search of the suspect, the officer discovered pills containing a powdery substance. The powder tested positive for the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The department is not releasing the name of the suspect until charges are filed.

According to the Terre Du Lac Police Department, fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine.

Officials with the St. Francois County Health Department say that fentanyl is used to treat chronic pain and by prescription comes in either a patch or a lozenge. Fentanyl in the powder form, which is made illegally in a lab, is the most commonly associated with recent drug overdoses.

Health department officials said that fentanyl is highly addictive and an easy drug on which to overdose. Fentanyl is often mixed with heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine to increase drug dealer profits and making it difficult to determine which drug caused the overdose.

Overdosing on fentanyl causes an individual’s breathing to slow and occasionally even stop. This leads to hypoxia, or a lack of blood flow to the brain and can result in serious brain damage and death.