DEA agents find fentanyl in Carneys Point raid
CARNEYS POINT, N.J. (WPVI) -- Federal drug agents were on the job in Salem County putting a small dent in the opioid crisis and at the same time, trying to protect themselves from the dangers of handling fentanyl.
DEA agents filled a Carneys Point neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.
Officials confirm they served a warrant on a house in the 200 block of Broadway.
DEA officials tell Action News that agents recovered an undetermined amount of fentanyl and pill presses inside the home.
Investigators say the pill presses are used to press powder into tablets.
Neighbors watched from their front porches.
"I saw people outside with uniforms, they went in and grabbed bags out, but I really don't know what happened," neighbor Jacqueline Lugo said.
"It's pretty scary. It's a quiet house," neighbor Christina Buckley said.
Residents took photos of the agents in hazmat suits, wearing oxygen tanks.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain medication, is so potent, law enforcement across the country are taking extra safety measures when responding to cases where the drug is present.
Earlier Tuesday in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan gave a description of the drug, using a salt shaker, after a special investigation dubbed "Operation Wildfire" netted 46 arrests.
"I'll just take a little bit of salt out in my hand. If that was fentanyl, that would be enough to kill four or five of us in this room," Hogan said.
The operation focused on street level heroin and opioid dealers.
Hogan explained even minimal exposure to the drug can have a dangerous effect.
"Just having it on my hand is going to make me sick and might kill me and if I blow it into the air, anybody around me is going to get sick and could get killed," Hogan said.
The DEA will only say two people were arrested in Carneys Point. They say the raid is part of an ongoing investigation, but have not said whether it is part of a bigger operation.
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