Florida police recently announced that they successfully dismantled a drug trafficking ring in the area.
Xylazine, a sedative used to extend opioid highs (Photo: CBS News)
Florida Police Took Down A Drug Trafficking Ring
Florida police declared that they successfully dismantled a drug trafficking operation in the area, which led to around 15 arrests. Xylazine was among the drugs found being sold in the operation. It is a strong veterinary sedative that found its way into the U.S. It is being used currently as a way to extend highs from opioids. Captain Darryl Blanford of the Narcotics Squad of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news conference last Tuesday that the drugs found in the trafficking ring was already causing huge problems within the area.
The trafficking operation was taken down after the commencement of the “Operation Moscow Mule”. Undercover agents successfully a grup within the operation and found out relevant information about the supplier who was in New Jersey. Officers were able to apprehend an individual carrying the drugs meant for the corridor. Orange County Sheriff John Mina stated that every individual except one have been arrested. Assistant statewide prosecutor Ashley Wright stated that all the 15 people arrested will now face “various charges”.
Mina and Blanford warned the public about the increasing use and spread of xylazine with regards to the drugs found in the operation. Blanford added that its usage is now an ongoing trend that is being used rapidly. Mina added that overdose deaths in the area alone has been linked to xylazine. The government recently labeled the drug as an “emerging threat”.
More On Xylazine
CBS News previously reported that xylazine was first found in the early 2000s in Puerto Rico. There were reports of its early use in the U.S. way back 2008. By 2019, it was more commonly used and just of this year, it was rampant in most states. According to the DEA, roughly a quarter of powdered fentanyl contained xylazine after it was examined in the agency’s labs.
Xylazine is not an opioid but a sedative, making it unresponsive to naloxone, which can be used to reverse overdoses caused by opioids. According to the CDC and other experts regarding the field, naloxone is still advisable since there are some side effects to the reversal medication of an overdose where xylazine is commly taken paired with opioids.
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