Fentanyl showing up more often in Bonners Ferry

January 27, 2022

Over the past two weeks, officers of the Bonners Ferry Police Department, with assistance from the Department of Probation and Parole as well as U.S. Border Patrol agents, conducted numerous interdiction and enforcement actions in an effort to slow the influx of Fentanyl into the Bonners Ferry area. As a result, five separate arrests have been made, each resulting in the recovery of Fentanyl pills.

Investigations are still on going with additional charges probable.

BFPD recognized that each of these pills recovered were the same in appearance, Fentanyl pills referred to at the street level as “Mexi-pills” or “blues."

The pills are small in size, marked with an “M” on one side, the number “30” on the other.

According to the DEA, “Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage."

DEA analysis has found counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams (more than twice the lethal dose) of fentanyl per tablet:
  • 42% of pills tested for fentanyl contained at least 2 mg of fentanyl, considered a potentially lethal dose.
  • Drug trafficking organizations typically distribute fentanyl by the kilogram. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people.

It is possible for someone to take a pill without knowing it contains fentanyl. It is also possible to take a pill knowing it contains fentanyl, but with no way of knowing if it contains a lethal dose.

"We want the community to be aware of the threat posed to our citizens by this powerful street drug sweeping the nation right now, assistant Bonners Ferry Police chief Marty Ryan said. "All coming into the U.S. via our southern border. I am extremely proud of the long hours and dedicated work our patrol officers have been doing in this interdiction effort. These pills have no quality control in their manufacturing, so each pill has the potential to take a life."

The drug is ingested in many ways, most common technique identified locally is the method of inhalation. This is done by resting the pill on a small square piece of tin foil and heating it with a flame. As the pill heats, it melts and turns to gaseous fumes which rise from the foil. This fume is then inhaled via any makeshift straw or tube. Street slang for this tube is a “tooter.”

Assistant Chief Ryan advised that concerned individuals, parents should stay alert for short straws that show evidence of heat being applied to them. Simple ball point pens which have had the ink and pen parts removed. These are most common. The tin foil left behind appears hearted on one side, the other showing thick black lines as if someone was making lines across it with a thick black marker.

If anyone in the community has any questions, or wish to learn more, please feel free to speak to your on-duty City Officer or contact the BFPD at (208) 267-2412.