HOUSTON — Fentanyl is now the leading cause of overdose deaths in Harris County -- that's why a recent bust in east Houston is so concerning.
Sources told KHOU 11 News that 5,000 pills and powder suspected to be fentanyl were found. At the scene near the intersection of York and Rusk streets, a white Chevrolet Tahoe was surrounded by authorities. At the scene, a man and a woman were questioned. They had a small child with them. Their connection with the bust is unclear.
Several law enforcement agencies are working on the investigation. The Drug Enforcement Agency said it's an ongoing case. It's unclear if anyone has been charged in the case.
'One pill can kill'
Last month, the DEA held a news conference alongside other agencies in the Houston area saying that the leading cause of overdose deaths is no longer cocaine -- it's fentanyl.
“I think a lot of parents take it like a blow to their ego. 'I raised you better than this. I’ve taught you better than this.' But that’s not the case. It is a disease. It is a mental disorder we suffer from. All it takes is one hit, one experiment, to activate that," former fentanyl user Chelsea Chanslor said at the news conference.
Chanslor is now in recovery.
This week, the DEA sent a letter to state and federal law enforcement partners citing seven mass overdose events in the last two months. The DEA said a lot of the victims thought they were taking cocaine, when in fact, they were ingesting fentanyl.
“It’s not going away ... it’s just getting worse and worse,” Chanslor's mother Colleen Fitzpatrick said.
In Houston, billboards are going up in hope of getting people's attention and possibly saving lives.