Police in New Hampshire are searching for a man they say at one point possessed a dangerous new drug called carfentanil.
The drug is sold as an elephant tranquilizer, but is now being cut into heroin and other drugs sold in the Manchester area in New Hampshire.
A drug warrant executed at Preston Thorpe’s home in Manchester on April 27 turned up trace amounts of carfentanil and a small amount of marijuana.
Thorpe is a 24-year-old man with brown hair, brown eyes, a sleeve tattoo on his right arm/hand and a large tattoo on his left forearm.
Police said they believe Thorpe may have fled prior to the search because the apartment appeared to have been cleaned out.
>> Related: What is fentanyl and how does it kill?
Officials told WFXT that there were 13 overdoses and at least three deaths in Manchester on Monday, although it will be some time before autopsies return to determine if the deaths are from to carfentanil.
The drug is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl, and 4,000 times more potent that heroin. It can be just as dangerous for first responders as it is for users.
“You can inhale it, touch it, the potency can send one of our guys into an overdose situation and we want to have enough reserve narcan on hand to save their life too,” District Manchester Fire Chief Jim Michael said.
One recovering drug addict identified only as Michael said he accidentally took carfentanil back in March and instantly knew something was wrong.
“The dude I was getting them from didn’t know because they were identical counterfeits,” he said, according to WFXT. “It was a similar opiate feeling but as soon I did it ... I knew within 5 seconds.”
About the Author
