On Tuesday, Sept. 16, over 50,000 M30 pills containing carfentanil were seized in Centralia, WA. Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid used as a tranquilizing agent for elephants and other large animals, is estimated to be 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
Following a months-long investigation, the Drug Enforcement Association (DEA), Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and police from Federal Way and Centralia seized the 50,208 pills from the accused at a Centralia gas station.
The drugs were field-tested, then sent to the DEA Western laboratory in Pleasanton, Calif., for further testing. Lab results revealed the pills didn’t contain fentanyl but the more dangerous alternative: carfentanil.
As a way for drug traffickers to increase profits and potency, carfentanil has been found mixed with other drugs or pressed into pills that look like prescription painkillers. In fact, the majority of carfentanil seizures in 2024 were in pill or tablet form rather than the typical powder. This increases the likelihood of fatal overdose and poisoning deaths, especially among users who are unaware they are ingesting such a powerful substance.
Because of its potency, even a microscopic dose of carfentanil could be deadly to humans. According to David F. Reams, Special Agent in charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division, “Carfentanil is like fentanyl on steroids. The cartels traffic this incredibly dangerous substance in order to profit from our misery.”
Though relatively unheard of before, the CDC reports that “deaths with carfentanil detected increased approximately sevenfold, from 29 during January–June 2023 to 238 during January–June 2024; 37 states reported carfentanil detection,” showing a public urgency for caution.
Over the past two decades, the presence of synthetic opioids—specifically fentanyl—has worsened the threat of an ongoing opioid epidemic. Now, the introduction of a new substance in U.S drug markets is an evident cause for more concern, as the strength of the drug poses a threat to first responders and law enforcement personnel exposed to its presence.
Local parents have cause for concern as well: just two years ago, two Bellevue High School students were hospitalized for fentanyl poisoning from fentanyl-laced vape pens. Although teenage vaping remains a widespread issue, the growing presence of an even more lethal drug—resistant to reversal by naloxone in some cases—poses a new and urgent public health challenge.
Overall, carfentanil is both an unsettling reminder of the rapidly evolving opioid epidemic and a call to action to never ingest pills not prescribed by a doctor or licensed pharmacist. As first coined by the DEA as part of their public awareness campaign, “One Pill Can Kill.”
