Authorities at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday discovered 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills hidden inside candy boxes, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
A suspect attempted to pass through security with multiple bags of candy and “miscellaneous snacks” at around 7:30 a.m. local time, according to the sheriff’s office. The candy packages, which contained wrappers for Skittles, Whoppers, and Sweetarts, were later found to be loaded with tablets that were thought to be fentanyl.
The sheriff’s department reported that the suspect had been identified and that “the investigation is ongoing.” but that they had escaped before they could be caught.
A synthetic opioid called fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. More than 107,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2021, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl responsible for nearly 71,000 of those deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
