St. Cloud Police Issue Dire Warning About Fentanyl After “Unprecedented” Number of Overdose Deaths in 2022

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud Police Department is issuing a dire warning about the dangers of fentanyl after an unprecedented number of overdose deaths in 2022.

Police say as of December 29th, there have been 19 overdose deaths, and 16 involved fentanyl. One of them was a two-year-old who accidentally ingested the drug. The other victims ranged in age from 22 to 66. There were two overdose deaths a piece in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, there were eight, and in 2021, that number jumped to 14.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller that is 100 times stronger than morphine and is often intentionally or unintentionally mixed with other drugs. Sometimes people don’t even know they’re taking it, and that’s why police say it is extremely dangerous.

The Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force says there has been a marked increase in the availability of fentanyl around the St. Cloud area, and although it can be found in many forms, it is most prevalent in either powder or pill form. Those pills, sometimes called Perc 30s, are then crushed and smoked.

In February, one person died, and eight others overdosed on suspected fentanyl in just 24 hours. Three people were arrested and charged in June after authorities intercepted a package containing thousands of fentanyl pills headed for St. Cloud at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In November, a 28-year-old man was charged after he was caught allegedly selling fentanyl pills. Four others were also arrested in connection to that case.

St. Cloud police and the VOTF “have been and will continue to aggressively work to identify and arrest those possessing and selling fentanyl.”

Police say they are worried about younger people being increasingly affected by fentanyl and ask parents and guardians to be vigilant and educate teens and young adults about its dangers. If you find what you believe may be fentanyl, they say don’t touch or handle it and call the police right away.

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