Police warn about fentanyl-laced flyers after deputy hospitalized for touching paper

Updated

The Harris County Sheriff's Office issued a warning on Tuesday after a flyer laced with the opioid fentanyl put one of its deputies in the hospital.

The deputy in question exited a sheriff's office facility in Houston, Texas, and found a flyer on her windshield, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a press briefing.

She removed the paper and began to drive away before starting to feel lightheaded. The employee was taken to the hospital following the incident and is reportedly alert and in stable condition.

The department launched a follow-up investigation and examined between 15 and 20 of the same flyers placed on nearby vehicles. It found that at least one of the papers tested positive for fentanyl, a powerful opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

According to CNN, a dose as small as a 0.25 milligrams can kill a person.

Gonzalez said that his deputies are on high alert as it remains unclear if the flyers were intended specifically to target law enforcement or if they were placed near the police department randomly.

A photo of the flyers shared on Twitter reveals that they contained anti-government and police messages.

"Fentanyl can be very toxic," said Gonzalez. "Even small amounts embedded in a flyer, in a paper, is something that could cause symptoms and many times, had this sergeant not acted quickly and gotten help, many times, it can end up deadly."

Advertisement