On Jan. 14, Hartford police issued a warning stating they recently recovered fentanyl 50 times more potent than the kind typically tested across New England.
Police did not specify where they recovered the drugs, but the issue of fentanyl was close to mind. A 13-year-old student at Sport and Medical Sciences Academy overdosed on the drug while at school Jan. 13, and later died. The following day, police said a subsequent search of the school revealed nearly 40 small bags of fentanyl packed for street-level sale.
In the warning released Jan. 14, police repeated a claim that has since been widely scrutinized: “The strength and potency of this product can be deadly to anyone coming in contact with it, including absorption through the skin,” they wrote.
