REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Detectives from the Columbus Division of Police testified in court Tuesday that they found rainbow fentanyl in the central Ohio area in a recent bust.
19 kilograms of fentanyl were found in storage units in Reynoldsburg, along with the residence of the three suspects earlier this month, Raymund Martinez-Mez, Jessica Delacruz Toscano and Ivan Torrese — some of it in the form of purple pills.
The colored pills, utilized and dispersed by drug cartels, can easily be mistaken as candy.
The three suspects were in court on Tuesday after law enforcement discovered nearly 42 pounds of drugs and weapons in two different storage units at Reynoldsburg’s Simply Self Storage and along with the suspects' residence just a few miles away.
Sylvia Trujillo, the manager of the storage facility said it was a scary encounter that could have led to deadly consequences.
"It is kind of scary, I'm not going to lie, to know that this happened here and it's not nobody's house, it's our business,” said Trujillo. “It is concerning to know the amount.’
DEA said the mass amount of the drug could have wiped out an entire community.
“That's nine and a half million people potentially could be killed from what was seized in that investigation,” explained Orville Greene, Special Agent in charge of DA Detroit Field Division.
Greene says fentanyl is typically presented as fake prescription pills and each kilogram could derive half a million pills. He says the DEA is working with state and local federal partners to identify and seize these networks as quickly as possible.
"Unfortunately, seizures such as this, are now becoming the norm,” Greene shared.
Greene explained the colored pills aren't specifically designed to target children, but the main concern is that children will mistake the drugs for candy and that college students can mistake it for Adderall.
In Ohio alone there have been nearly 200,000 pills and over 10 million deadly doses of fentanyl seized just this year.
The best thing you can do, Greene said, is to educate your kids on the dangers of taking pills that are not prescribed.
For more information, visit DEA's website.