20,000 fentanyl pills, some disguised as candy, found hidden in hair gel containers in SJ bust
Authorities seized as many as 20,000 fentanyl “M30” pills, some in the riskier new rainbow color, concealed inside hair gel containers during a traffic stop at Highway 99 and Main Street in Ripon, just south of Stockton, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, K-9 deputies pulled over a vehicle in the area for expired registration and tailgating. K-9 Rango, cross-trained in both apprehension and narcotics detection, alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, the agency said.
Inside the vehicle, approximately 15,000-20,000 fentanyl “M30” pills were found concealed inside the hair gel containers. Some were the more commonly seen blue color, while “some were the relatively new ‘rainbow’ color that has been showing up recently. Testing has indicated that the ‘rainbow’ pills may be more potent, and present a higher risk of overdose,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
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Abril Campos, 32, of Los Angeles, was arrested and booked on suspicion of possession of narcotics for sale. She also received a citation for expired registration and tailgating, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Online jail records show she is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is due in court Friday.
Testing has indicated that the “rainbow” pills may be more potent, and present a higher risk of overdose.
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The arrest came a day after thousands of suspected fentanyl pills disguised in candy boxes were seized at Los Angeles International Airport.
Someone tried to go through security screening with some snacks and bags of candy at about 7:30 a.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
“However, it was discovered that inside the ‘Sweetarts’, ‘Skittles’, and ‘Whoppers’ candy boxes were fentanyl pills,” the statement said.
About 12,000 pills were seized by sheriff’s detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement
The suspected trafficker fled but has been identified, authorities said.
Authorities recently have warned that drug dealers have been disguising fentanyl in candy wrappers and manufacturing them in rainbow colors.
The arrest also followed one earlier this week in San Joaquin County, when three children, ages 9, 11, and 16, who were listed as missing in San Joaquin County last week were found surrounded by methamphetamine and other drugs, authorities said.
Citing “substantial danger to the physical and emotional health,” the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office launched a search for the children after their mother failed to turn them over to officials in Stockton after a court order, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Deputies pulled over a vehicle with the father and another woman inside on Monday in Stockton and arrested them. Later that day, deputies found the three children inside a Lathrop home along with their mother, who also was arrested, officials said.
The children's father and mother face charges of child abduction, child abuse, and disobeying a court order, the agency said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Thousands of candy-colored rainbow fentanyl pills seized in California
