"A lethal batch of drugs is killing people all over the Midwest, including right here in Omaha.
The Omaha branch of the Drug Enforcement Administration said overdoses are on the rise because of fentanyl.
“We’re seeing it laced in with other drugs, whether it's cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, but we're also seeing it pressed into pills,” said Emily Murray.
"We know that there were more than 100,000 overdose deaths last year, which is an alarming number in the highest total we've ever seen. And more than 60% of those overdoses were attributed to synthetic substances like fentanyl."
She said there's no easy way to tell if drugs have fentanyl in them, and just a small amount can kill you.
“To put it into perspective visually, it’s just the tip of a pencil, or if you were to get a salt shaker and shake out ten pieces of salt,” Murray said.
“It's just, it's unreal, it's flooding the markets, it's flooding the streets,” Murray said. “It’s like playing Russian roulette. If a drug dealer or a seller can provide a drug to 10 different people, and let's say two of those people die, they're still going to have eight people who are now addicted and going to come back to them time and time again for the substance.”