This new ‘trash can’ drug threat brings deadly, hidden dangers to the streets

On the streets, they’re called “trash cans” — colorful capsules or vials packed haphazardly with fentanyl, an opioid so potent that just a tiny amount can kill.

Drug agents have found them in Baltimore, New Jersey and Philadelphia, and fear this new drug threat could soon spread across the nation.

Trash cans” are packaged in U.S. conversion labs — homes or buildings where traffickers alter or remix drugs they buy in bulk and package for resale. Sometimes, traffickers cut fentanyl with other drugs, even animal tranquilizers.

Agents caution that this packaging method poses threats not only to those using drugs but also children and law enforcement officers.

When dealers package drugs in “trash cans,” they often mix the fentanyl with powdery adulterants before loading it into small plastic vials or capsules. Thecapsules are too thick to swallow andthe vials have lids or flip-tops, said Jarod Forget, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington, D.C. Field Office.

Users also face a significant risk when snorting or ingesting the drugs, since an amount of fentanyl as small as Abraham Lincoln’s cheek on a penny can kill.

“We issued an alert” to caution law enforcement in several states, said Tom Carr, executive director of the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program.

“There’s always a possibility it could spread.”

This tiny amount of fentanyl can kill. (Photo: DEA)

Baltimore-area police first noticed fentanyl mixtures in the “trash cans” in 2019 and alerted the DEA, said Jennifer M. Lofland, Forget’s field intelligence manager.

Police have found the vials in a variety of colors, including hot pink, orange, yellow, blue, green, black, silver and purple. But DEA agents say they’re most often in clear or white vials.

The “trash cans” frequently contain Xylazine, a tranquilizer for horses and other animals, Carr said.

Regardless, traffickers often are clever at marketing drugs so their supply seems new or special.

“I think the newness is attractive,” Lofland said. “It’s distinctive.”

Pamela Johnson, owner of Amazin’ Recovery Treatment Services in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk, agreed, saying one of her clients told her about the “trash cans” in July.

Johnson, who has worked in addiction recovery for 15 years, said drug sellers have always tried to use new and appealing packaging and branding.

“Selling drugs is no different than selling makeup,” she said. “You have to market your product.”

Carr and Lofland said they don’t know which drug ring started the “trash cans,” but once users sought them, other competing trafficking networks also began to package their drugs the same way.

Lofland said she first saw an intelligence report about the new threat more than a year-and-a-half ago with a photo of a black “trash can” in the car of a middle-age man who overdosed on a opioid in the Baltimore suburbs.

Use of the lidded vials then spread to New Jersey and Philadelphia, said Carr, who oversees multi-agency drug task forces in West Virginia, Virginia, D.C. and Maryland.

For traffickers, the thicker vials make them more durable, Forget said.

“If you’re in Baltimore and it’s a humid day or it’s raining or snowing, the (traditional) gel capsules could deteriorate and you could lose your product,” Forget said.

There also is a benefit for some smugglers, he said. Since the vials are thicker than typical capsules the user can swallow, they are less likely to break when hidden in body cavities. That’s a common way to sneak drugs into airports and jails.

The bulk of the fentanyl in the Baltimore area comes from Mexican cartels to California or Texas before being shipped northeast, Lofland said.

Investigators say “trash cans” are hot now, but gimmicks to sell illegal drugs are always evolving. That means traffickers in covert labs somewhere in the United States are likely working on packaging the next drug threat, which will also most likely involve fentanyl since it’s a synthetic that Mexican cartels are mass producing.

Johnson, who lost four clients to overdoses last year, said drug users increasingly realize the dangers they face — which spurs some to take action. She recalled one man so scared of dying he finally sought help after 40 years of drug use.

“He feels like his days are numbers on the streets right now because of fentanyl,” she said. “So he’s asking to give recovery a try.”

Help with addiction

Anyone struggling with addiction can find help through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s national helpline, 1-800-662-HELP

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