New 'trash can' drug capsules bring deadly, hidden dangers to the streets, DEA says

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On the streets, they're called "trash cans" — colorful capsules or vials packed haphazardly with fentanyl, an opioid so potent that just a tiny amount can kill.

Drug agents have found them in Baltimore, New Jersey and Philadelphia, and they fear this new drug threat could soon spread across the nation.

"Trash cans" are packaged in U.S. conversion labs — homes or buildings where traffickers alter or remix drugs they buy in bulk and package for resale. Sometimes, traffickers cut fentanyl with other drugs, even animal tranquilizers.

This packaging method makes it even more dangerous to take and handle fentanyl, posing a threat not only to those using drugs but also children and law enforcement officers.

When dealers package drugs in "trash cans," they often mix the fentanyl with powdery adulterants before loading it into small plastic vials or capsules. The capsules are too thick to swallow and the vials have lids or flip-tops, said Jarod Forget, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Washington, D.C., field office.

Some of the vials are smaller than a penny, while others are about the size of a nickel. If the traffickers, their children or police breathe in even a minuscule amount of the tiny powders — or if pure fentanyl powders touch their skin — they can overdose.

Pandemic drug use: Drug overdose deaths spike to record levels amid COVID-19, with fentanyl the top killer

Another hazard: If users buy the vials and use their fingers to pry open the lids, they can potentially spill some out, Forget said. Police are finding the emptied vials tossed on the ground and this can pose a danger if enough of the drug remains in or on the vial.

Users also face a significant risk when snorting or ingesting the drugs, since an amount of fentanyl as small as Abraham Lincoln's cheek on a penny can kill.

"We issued an alert" to caution law enforcement in several states, said Tom Carr, executive director of the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

"There's always a possibility it could spread."

Baltimore-area police first noticed fentanyl mixtures in "trash cans" in 2019 and alerted the DEA, said Jennifer M. Lofland, Forget's field intelligence manager.

The "trash cans" also frequently contain Xylazine, a tranquilizer for horses and other animals, Carr said.

DEA reports also indicate the animal drug is being used more often to cut a variety of street drugs. Researchers once studied Xylazine for its potential use in humans as an analgesic, hypnotic and anesthetic. But they halted clinical trials due to severe hypotension, or low blood pressure, and central nervous system depressant effects, according to a report by the DEA's Diversion Control Division.

There's no way for drug users to know what's in "trash cans." Sometimes, traffickers forgo the fentanyl and instead simply fill them with cutting agents, such as bath salts or baby powder. Other times, the vials contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Regardless, traffickers often are clever at marketing drugs so their supply seems new or special.

"I think the newness is attractive," Lofland said. "It’s distinctive."

Smuggling rings: Rogue pilots trafficked a billion dollars in cartel drugs across US while no one watched

Pamela Johnson, owner of Amazin' Recovery Treatment Services in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk, agreed, saying one of her clients told her about the "trash cans" in July.

Johnson, who has worked in addiction recovery for 15 years, said drug sellers have always tried to use new and appealing packaging and branding.

"Selling drugs is no different than selling makeup," she said. "You have to market your product."

Carr and Lofland said they don't know which drug ring started the "trash cans," but once users sought them, other competing trafficking networks also began to package their drugs the same way.

Lofland said she first saw an intelligence report about the new threat more than a year-and-a-half ago with a photo of a black "trash can" in the car of a middle-age man who overdosed on a opioid in the Baltimore suburbs.

Use of the lidded vials then spread to New Jersey and Philadelphia, said Carr, who oversees multi-agency drug task forces in West Virginia, Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.

For traffickers, the thicker vials make them more durable, Forget said.

"If you're in Baltimore and it's a humid day or it's raining or snowing, the (traditional) gel capsules could deteriorate and you could lose your product," Forget said.

There also is a benefit for some smugglers, he said. Since the vials are thicker than typical capsules the user can swallow, they are less likely to break when hidden in body cavities. That's a common way to sneak drugs into airports and jails.

The bulk of the fentanyl in the Baltimore area comes from Mexican cartels to California or Texas before being shipped northeast, Lofland said.

And the majority of fentanyl, now America's No. 1 killer, comes from two drug empires: the infamous Sinaloa Cartel and the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, according to the DEA's 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment. CJNG is lesser known but just as powerful. The Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, published an investigative report in 2019 on El Mencho's reach into small-town America, with known cases in 35 states — including those far from the border, such as Kentucky, Kansas, South Carolina and Massachusetts.

Drug force: How a McDonald's receipt crippled an elite drug-fighting team

Investigators say "trash cans" are hot now, but gimmicks to sell illegal drugs are always evolving. That means traffickers in covert labs somewhere in the United States are likely working on packaging the next drug threat, which will also most likely involve fentanyl since it's a synthetic that Mexican cartels are mass producing.

Johnson, who lost four clients to overdoses last year, said drug users increasingly realize the dangers they face — which spurs some to take action. She recalled one man so scared of dying he finally sought help after 40 years of drug use.

"He feels like his days are numbers on the streets right now because of fentanyl," she said. "So he's asking to give recovery a try."

Anyone struggling with addiction can find help through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's national helpline, 1-800-662-HELP

Follow Reporter Beth Warren on Twitter: @BethWarrenCJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: DEA: Fentanyl 'trash can' drug capsules a new, deadly threat