More than 1,000 fentanyl deaths tracked to Mexican drug operation

More than 1,000 deaths linked to the painkiller fentanyl were reported nationally during a two-year span, traced to a drug operation in Mexico, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The source was the same one identified in a 2007 Free Press investigation into the deadly cocktail of heroin and fentanyl that plagued metro Detroit. The CDC came to Detroit in 2006, as well as other major cities, as fentanyl-related deaths were peaking.

Fentanyl is used for pain management in severe cases, but was often mixed with heroin during the outbreak.

There likely were more fentanyl-related deaths, Schmidt noted, but not every hospital would test for fentanyl.

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