Roswell Woman Charged With Selling Pills Laced With Fentanyl

ROSWELL, GA -- A Roswell resident has been arraigned on federal charges she was selling fentanyl and two synthetic opioids, furanyl-fentanyl and U-47700, out of her townhouse in the city.

An affidavit presented in the case against Cathine Lavina Sellers shows that she was allegedly distributing counterfeit 30 milligrams of Roxicodone, a powerful painkiller, out of her residence in Roswell, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia states.

“This defendant allegedly sold counterfeit pills that were deliberately designed to look like normal Roxicodone tablets when they were actually laced with fentanyl and two synthetic opioids,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “These pills are especially dangerous because they may be more than 50 times more potent than normal oxycodone. Anyone who consumes these pills faces a substantially higher risk of overdose.”

According to prosecutors, Sellers allegedly sold roughly 100 pills for $1,400 on June 13 from her townhouse on Weatherburne Drive to a confidential source working with the DEA. A field test of the pills confirms they tested positive for the presence of furanyl-fentanyl, an analog of fentanyl that's similar to morphine, but more potent.

Later in the evening, DEA agents searched Sellers' home and found the cash from the earlier transaction. During their search, they also found more pills containing the analog of fentanyl "concealed in a dietary supplement bottle," federal prosecutors state. Agents also found a loaded Glock handgun and two magazines. DEA agents arrested Sellers that night.

An affidavit submitted by a Sandy Springs cop, a sworn DEA task force officer, also recounts a conversation between Sellers and the confidential source during which she acknowledged that the counterfeit pills contained fentanyl.

"Sellers said that several customers had returned the counterfeit pills because they were too strong, but later came back to get the pills," the U.S. Attorney's Office states.

The feds also charge Sellers and her boyfriend had been selling the pills for quite some time before she was arrested. Those counterfeit pills were described as being similar in appearance to legitimate 30 milligrams of Roxicodone tablets -- except they are a lighter shade of blue.

Sellers, 38, is charged with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, involving fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, and furanyl-fentanyl and U-47700, both of which were designated by DEA as a Schedule I controlled substance on an emergency basis in 2016. The federal grand jury handed down the indictment on July 11.

“Combating the explosion of synthetic drugs continue to be one of DEA’s top priorities," said Daniel R. Salter, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division." Substances like U-47700, also known as 'Pink,' which is a synthetic opioid 7.5 times stronger than morphine, continues to wreak havoc on our society. DEA will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring dangerous ‘pill pushers’ to justice.”

In conjunction with this arrest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Atlanta DEA are issuing a public warning regarding these counterfeit pills through their public affairs offices as well as through the North Georgia Heroin Working Group. A similar warning was issued just last month when fake Percocet pills caused numerous overdoses in the Macon. A total of five deaths were linked to the fake pills.

Image via Fulton County Jail