PHOENIX — "Almost every investigation I do results in a fentanyl pill seizure," explains Phoenix Police Officer Kenneth Silvia, who works on the department's Neighborhood Enforcement Team.
We first met Officer Silvia in September 2022, just as "rainbow fentanyl" was hitting the streets. Until then, it was mostly common in the blue pill form, so we wanted to know how big of a problem is it now - and the answer took us by surprise.
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"That was the thing last year for a little bit," explains Officer Silvia. "I think it was a bit of a marketing scheme, try something new and raise the prices because prices were dropping...It wasn't very long-lived. We really haven't seen that much at all as far as the colored ones - it's back to the traditional blue ones."
It's something Phoenix Police forensic scientist Erica Bell has also seen inside her lab, who explains about 80% of the fentanyl she comes into contact with is the blue type.
Needless to say, it's been a busy year for Phoenix PD when it comes to fentanyl seizures. According to the department, as of August 31, they had already worked about 4,000 cases involving fentanyl, while last year's total was 5,800.
"We have seen more cases with larger quantities," explains Bell. "Just a couple weeks ago, I did a case with 50,000 tablets, but you talk about a big five-gallon bucket of paint with tablets and those are just the ones we get off the streets - that's the scary part."
Even scarier is the fact that in some cases, these pills are getting into the hands of children.
"I think the biggest thing you can do as a parent is explain to your kids what is out there, be aware of what the current trends are, what it looks like, and explain it to them - because it's so small, it could easily get into a school...You might think, 'no it's not my kids, never,' but like I said, it's everywhere, so you can't think it's not going to be your child."
