(NewsNation) — In Austin, Texas, this month, Emergency Management Services and 911 faced what they described as a “surge” of deadly fentanyl overdoses.
Officials said there were a total of 79 suspected overdose incidents, nine deaths and 438 doses of Narcan distributed. Preliminary tests show the people who died had traces of fentanyl in their systems.
“It just kind of became a domino effect,” Andre Jimenez of Next Level Security in Austin said. “After that, it was one after another after another.”
The number of drug overdose calls to 911 last week marked a 1000% spike for the city, where crime techs work on thousands of cases, analyzing drugs found on Texas streets and testing them for things like cocaine, meth and fentanyl.
NewsNation was given exclusive access inside a crime lab in Austin doing just that.
When drugs like fentanyl are seized and brought to the building, they come to a room called a drug vault.
Most people don’t have access to it, and a special PIN code is needed to get inside. On any given day, there are at least 5,000 pieces of evidence in that room alone.
The lab NewsNation went to is one of the busiest and uses special technology, such as color testing, to rapidly identify illegal drugs.
Texas’ Department of Public Safety says cases of confirmed fentanyl found and brought to the lab continue to grow, up from 94 cases in 2019 to over 2,000 in 2023.
More often than not, the deadly drug is found in pill capsules disguised to look like other drugs.
“Pretty much anytime we see this m30 tablet, which is suspected oxycodone, we suspect fentanyl,” Rachel Aubel, the drug section supervisor for the Texas DPS crime lab in Austin, said. “We don’t really ever see actual oxycodone tablets anymore. They actually contain fentanyl instead.”
Fentanyl is a looming threat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say every day, more than 200 people die from fentanyl overdoses.
Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez blames the rise in fentanyl cases on drug cartels based in Mexico.
“The Mexican drug cartels are able to produce this drug in large amounts at a very low cost, so they’re able to produce this drug at a large amount and get it across to other states at a much lower cost,” Olivarez said.
Border officials tonight are concerned not only about the many cases that end up in the DPS crime lab but also the ones that don’t.
“Much more of this drug is getting by, and I think that’s what makes it much more dangerous, that we don’t know how much of this drug is being produced and how much of this drug is getting by us,” Olivarez said.
That is the challenge for officials, especially in Texas, because they say these deadly drugs are not only being spotted in towns along the border but also in major cities. Crime labs are feeling the effects, with the one in Austin adding extra personnel to handle the caseload.