Christian Smith
(NewsNation) – In Austin, Texas, this month, Emergency Management Services and 911 faced what they described as a “surge” of deadly fentanyl overdoses.
Authorities said there have been a total of 79 suspected overdose cases, nine deaths and 438 doses of Narcan distributed. Preliminary tests show that the people who died had traces of fentanyl in their systems.
“It kind of became a domino effect,” said Andre Jimenez of Next Level Security in Austin. “After that, it was one after another.”
The number of 911 calls for drug overdoses last week marked a 1,000 percent increase in the city, where forensic technicians work thousands of cases, analyzing drugs found on Texas streets and testing them for things like cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
NewsNation was given exclusive access inside an Austin crime lab to do just that.
When drugs like fentanyl are seized and brought into the building, they arrive in a room called the drug vault.
Most people don’t have access to it and a special PIN code is required to enter. On any given day, there is at least 5,000 pieces of evidence in that room alone.
The lab NewsNation visited is one of the busiest and uses special technology, such as color testing, to quickly identify illegal drugs.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says confirmed cases of fentanyl found and brought to the laboratory continue to grow, rising from 94 cases in 2019 to more than 2,000 in 2023.
Most often, the deadly drug is found in capsules disguised to look like other drugs.
“Almost every time we see this m30 pill, which is suspected oxycodone, we suspect fentanyl,” said Rachel Aubel, drug section supervisor at the Texas DPS crime lab in Austin. “In fact, we never see real oxycodone pills anymore. In fact, they contain fentanyl.
Fentanyl is an imminent threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says every day more than 200 people die from fentanyl overdoses.
Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez attributes the rise in fentanyl cases to drug cartels based in Mexico.
“The Mexican drug cartels are able to produce this drug in large quantities at a very low cost, so they are able to produce this drug in large quantities and transport it to other states at a much lower cost,” Olivarez said.
Border officials tonight are concerned not only about the many cases that end up in the DPS crime lab, but also about those that don’t.
“A lot more of this drug is getting through, and I think that’s what makes it a lot more dangerous, the fact that we don’t know how much of this drug is being produced and how much of this drug is getting through us,” Olivarez said.
This is the challenge for authorities, especially in Texas, because they say these deadly drugs are not only being detected in towns along the border, but in major cities as well. Crime labs are feeling the effects, with the one in Austin adding extra staff to handle the caseload.
