A woman is facing charges of drug trafficking and possession after she was arrested in February. She is accused of combining large amounts of heroin with the extremely potent opioid fentanyl. Fentanyl has been linked to the deadly wave of overdoses that has swept the United States in recent years.
The 29-year-old Plantation woman is facing a number of charges, including cocaine possession, possession and/or use of drug paraphernalia, fentanyl possession and fentanyl trafficking. Fentanyl is a controlled substance at the state and federal levels. The woman was identified by police following a undercover investigation into the distribution of fentanyl in the city of Hollywood. She was allegedly discovered selling fentanyl with a value of over $400. In her car, police then allegedly found 21 bags of fentanyl and a bag of crack cocaine. The woman is a former registered chiropractic assistant who failed to renew her license after it expired in 2014. After her arrest, she was taken to jail and released after paying bond.
Police said that fentanyl and other opioids were a high priority for enforcement actions in the area, saying that Broward County has seen a high rate of dangerous and fatal overdoses. In 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 42,000 people died of opioid overdoses. Opioids include illegal substances like heroin, prescription drugs like oxycodone and hydromorphone and fentanyl. Fentanyl has some prescription-based uses but is also sold through separate lines of distribution as a street drug.
People facing drug charges might want to work with an attorney to present a strong defense to these allegations. A conviction can have lifelong effects, including prison time and costly fines.
