SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 2, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police in Salt Lake City recovered fentanyl pills in two unrelated stops.
The Salt Lake City Police Department said in a news release the first stop was just after noon Monday when officers assigned to the Geraldine King Homeless Resource Center tried stopping 36-year-old Robert Flores for failing to obey a traffic signal at 800 South and 200 East, in the SLC’s Central City neighborhood.
Flores ran from officers but was taken into custody near 300 E. Sherman Ave., in the Liberty Wells neighborhood.
Officers recovered more than 50 blue M30 pills suspected of containing fentanyl and cocaine. M30s are fake prescription pills that routinely contain measurable amounts of fentanyl, the SLCPD statement says.
Officers took Flores to the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and booked him on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to stop at the command of a police officer, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and failure to obey a pedestrian traffic control device.
The second investigation started at 6:47 p.m. the same day when officers assigned to the Liberty Patrol Division spotted 24-year-old Brian Cano-Jimenez at Fairmont Park, located at 1040 E. Sugarmont Drive, in the Sugar House neighborhood. Officers knew Cano-Jimenez had active felony warrants.
Officers safely stopped Cano-Jimenez and during their investigation, found more than 120 blue M30 pills, drug paraphernalia, and cash.
Officers took Cano-Jimenez to the Salt Lake County Metro jail and booked him on charges of possession with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance.
M30s are usually round tablets and light blue in color. However, they may be found in different shapes and an assortment of colors.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is added to fake pills.
“Fentanyl continues to be a driving factor in the alarming increase of overdoses nationwide,” the police statement says. “When added to pills, fentanyl can be impossible for the human eye to detect or differentiate between an authentic pill. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.”
The SLCPD recommends people never accept or take a pill that hasn’t been directly prescribed to them by a licensed physician.
Signs of a fentanyl overdose include blue lips or blue fingertips, unresponsive to sternal rub, body stiffening, foaming at mouth, and confusion.
Naloxone is a medicine that SLCPD officers carry while on duty. It can treat a fentanyl overdose. Naloxone works by rapidly binding to opioid receptors and blocking the effects of opioid drugs.
For more information about fake pills, go to https://www.dea.gov/onepill.
