TOLEDO, Ohio — There is a drug problem on the streets of Toledo and it's claiming lives at an alarming rate.
The Toledo Police Department said fake prescription pills could be the culprit.
Thousands of prescription pills have been recovered from the streets by TPD, and a lot of those pills are fake.
"These first drugs here are the main ones that I think are going around the street right now," an undercover TPD officer said, referring to several recovered pills. "There's an 'M' on one side and on the other side, it's real small lettering, but it's a '30.' These would be typically your Oxycodone."
And there are other ones that look like Ecstasy pills, but in reality, they're meth.
The undercover officer said these counterfeit pills are being made right here in Toledo.
He explained dealers will order pill presses and the substances online, use bonding agents prescribed by pharmacies and make the pills themselves. A lot of which are mixed with fentanyl.
"The pills that we're seeing that are counterfeit seem to break apart a lot easier."
So, why are they making pills laced with fentanyl? The officer said it's easy, quick cash and it gives the user a stronger buzz.
So far this year, there have been at least eight overdose deaths in Toledo.
"We've had a few overdoses, even deaths, here lately," the officer said. "We can't contribute anything exactly yet, but we have found pills at the scene. We know the pills did test for acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl."
He said fentanyl is manufactured in a facility, most likely outside of the U.S. Then, a majority of dealers here just receive it in the mail.
The officer explained it's going to take someone of higher power to get this off the street.
"I wish that somebody above me obviously would try to figure this out and go after those facilities," he said. "To me, I don't know how hard it would be to try and track that back, but I think we got people in positions that can do that."
TPD seized more drugs last year than years in the past, but there were fewer overdoses, according to the department.
The undercover officer suspects part of that could be due to the growing use of Narcan, which can rapidly reverse an overdose.
If you or someone you know may be at risk of overdosing, contact your local health department to get doses of Narcan and training on how to use it properly. It's free and could save your life or the lives of others.