Nebraska State Patrol Trooper warns against fentanyl

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Across the country, law enforcement agencies are seizing more and more fentanyl.

Just this week, two Nebraska State Patrol stops yielded thousands of what officers believe to be fentanyl pills. Lt. Eric Kauffman with Nebraska State Patrol said he remembers when, in 2017, a 40-pound fentanyl bust by NSP officers was the third largest in the country.

“You bring that forward to today, and 40 pounds, 120 pounds, while both significant amounts of seizures, are nowhere near the largest seizures across the country,” Kauffman said. “There is significantly more fentanyl in our communities everywhere around this country.”

Kauffman said due to the drug’s potency and number of overdose cases across the country, finding and seizing fentanyl is a priority for NSP. He said it will continue to be a priority until the drug’s presence declines.

Kauffman said fentanyl pills can look like an ordinary pill, and he stressed caution in the face of pills not directly from pharmacists.