United States Attorney speaks on dangers of fentanyl
ACADIANA, La. (KLFY) -- According to Louisiana Opioid Data and Surveillance Data, fatal fentanyl overdoses have increased in the state since 2019. In 2022 64.9% of suspected drug-related fatalities in the state involved fentanyl.
News 10 sat down with U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown as he discussed the dangers of fentanyl.
“It’s my opinion, second to COVID-19, the Fentanyl epidemic, per se, has been the biggest public health crisis that we've had, arguably of our generation and it's up to us and the federal government, along with our state, local partners and law enforcement, to try and thwart the trafficking and the distribution of fentanyl in our local communities,” Brown explained. “This is no drug that is a respecter of a type of person. It is affecting the old, the young, the rich, the poor, the educated, and the uneducated. It is often masked in other drugs. We are often seeing traces, even in marijuana strains now in other types of pills that are sold illegally on the street. That's why it's dangerous and it's important for the people and the public to know that you should not be buying street-level drugs from anybody. You may think it is one drug, but it turns out it is laced with fentanyl and we could have a tragic situation on our hands at the bat of an eye.”
In a recent case, an Abbeville man Gabriel Hawthorne,41 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl.
“The investigation did reveal a wide-scale trafficking effort by these co-conspirators and we know, given what we know about fentanyl, depending on the body composition, if they are not being shut down from selling, it could have led to a death,” said Brown. “This investigation took a lot of resources per se. We're still looking at other arms and facets of this investigation as well. It’s not over. These individuals have been arrested and prosecuted, thankfully, but we're still keeping our foot on the gas when it comes to selling these illicit substances in our community.”
Brown explained how the danger of fentanyl is that it is often masked in other types of drugs such as Xanax, and pills, and even found in marijuana.
“The typical teenager or college student may think, ‘Hey, you know, I'm going to take this pill and have a good time tonight’, and it leads to some kind of overdose situation,” Brown said. Furthermore, he shared how Naracan is readily available to law enforcement and businesses.
“Even some prosecutors carry it now, because you come into contact with fentanyl it just wreaks havoc on the body immediately,” Brown said. “Law enforcement is always vigilant and aware of what it may be and often takes precautions when handling drugs when coming into contact with people who sell these drugs so that the public and themselves can be protected.”
Brown said individual sentencing varies depending on one’s knowledge of knowingly distributing fentanyl compared to one who may not quite be aware.
“We've had several trials over the years where individuals knowingly, for example, sold to someone previously the person overdosed and they keep selling the same batch, they keep selling the same supplier, they keep going back to the same supplier. Those individuals we look to get maximum sentences for because those individuals have no regard for human life” said Brown.
Oftentimes help from anonymous tip lines can help an investigation.
“Individuals who provide information to law enforcement and those persons nine times out of ten, they're protective and they're afforded certain privileges and protections for bringing that information forward,” he tells News 10. “Most drug users don't want to see tragedy. They want to buy their drugs and keep buying drugs. But we've had a lot of situations where users become enraged and upset that some individual is knowingly selling fentanyl or heroin-laced drugs. So they often come forward and they've been a big help to law enforcement.”
Brown said Hawthorne’s co-defendants Frederick Thornton and Andrea Mitchell have both pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later day.