Austin Police Department officials took part in a covert operation to deal with the surge in fentanyl-related deaths in Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press CNN Gary lewis, 50, and Dennis Horton, 47, were charged with possession of fentanyl, which is a second-degree felony.
Ronnie Mimms, 45, was charged with possession of a controlled drug, which is a third-degree felony. Kanady Rimijo, 32, faces charges for delivering controlled substances, which is a first-degree felony in view of the number of charges. Marcellus Barron, 30, faces the same charges, but for second-degree murder, there are fewer charges.
Prison records show that Horton and Rimio were released on ,000 bail. The other three suspects remained in custody on Tuesday morning.
An affidavit obtained by KEYE, a subsidiary of CNN, said that the arrest was part of a covert operation "aimed at purchasing narcotics from distributors for criminal prosecution in response to the surge in opioid-related overdose in Austin."
According to the arrest warrant, an undercover policeman bought a substance that was considered crack cocaine and found several bags of suspected marijuana in the subsequent search related to Rimio's arrest. Both of them were later tested positive for fentanyl.
According to the arrest warrant, the police received more than 70 calls of opioid overdose within 72 hours, of which at least 7 deaths were suspected to be related to drug overdose. These deaths are still under investigation.
The five suspects have not been charged with any recent drug overdose or death.
The suspect has not filed a plea and will appear in court later this month. CNN contacted their court-appointed lawyer for comment on Tuesday.
A little boy died in a flood in Texas, and the authorities carried out more than 200 rescues in the state. Across the country, the drug overdose crisis kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. According to the estimation of the National Center for Health Statistics of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the 12 months to May 2023, about 112,024 people died of drug overdose.
Compared with the previous year, the number of drug overdose deaths increased by more than 2700. In the 12 months to May 2022, about 109,261 people died of drug overdose.
The arrest occurred when federal officials acknowledged the National Fentanyl Publicity Day on May 7th.
In recent years, many overdose deaths are caused by opioids, which aim to replicate the analgesic characteristics of opium.
Some opioids are legal, such as prescription painkillers morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone-although they can be dangerous when abused. Other opioids are illegal, such as heroin and illegally manufactured fentanyl.
Holly Yan, Milla Cheng and Amanda Moussa of CNN contributed to this article.