CLEVELAND — A driver was arrested on State Route 2 in Painesville Township after Lake County sheriff's deputies pulled him over with hundreds of fake pills allegedly laced with fentanyl, Sheriff Frank Leonbruno announced Thursday.
According to a press release from Leonbruno, the drug arrest resulted from targeted enforcement on State Route 2 near State Route 44. The man, whom Leonbruno did not identify, was arrested after deputies found 325 blue pills labeled with the markings "M" and "30" in a plastic bag.
Leonbruno said the pills were allegedly laced with fentanyl. The sheriff said they were colored and marked to resemble the prescription pain medication oxycodone, also known by its brand name, Oxycontin.
The driver was charged with possession of a bulk amount of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony, and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. He was also cited for misdemeanor offenses of driving without an operator's license and driving under suspension.
Leonbruno said prescription pain pills like oxycodone are among "the most abused and trafficked drugs."
"Over the past few years physicians have substantially limited prescribing opioids and the amount they will prescribe for pain," Leonbruno said. "As a result, drug dealers have tried to capitalize on this addiction and have begun selling drugs that look like prescription medications."
Leonbruno said "99%" of the pills the sheriff's office confiscates from the street are not prescription drugs, but compounds containing fentanyl and "other fillers." He said drug dealers use pill presses to make the illegal compounds look like prescription pills.
The sheriff cautioned to never take a tablet or prescription medication that is not prescribed by a doctor or licensed healthcare provider.
"Drug dealers are not around because they care about your pain or your health. The people making these pills are not licensed pharmacists and know nothing about the types of drugs they are mixing and how lethal they can be," Leonbruno said. "They simply want to use your life to make them money."
