Flandreau Police, Moody County Sheriff’s and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribal Police want Moody County residents to be on the lookout for dangerous and counterfeit pills that if taken, could be deadly.
DCI Agents across the state in October issued a warning of the pills, containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. “Recently, approximately 6000 counterfeit M30 pills were seized by law enforcement in Rapid City. These counterfeit pills are being mass-produced by criminal drug networks and then deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills, resulting in the deaths of unsuspecting Americans,” a press release stated.
Local law enforcement has confirmed there have been several related overdoses in recent weeks. The local warning follows the following nationwide alert in late September:

“During the past eight weeks, DEA has targeted the criminal drug networks flooding the U.S. with deadly, fentanyl-laced fake pills,” said DEA Administrator Milgram. “The fentanyl-laced fake pills...could potentially kill more than 700,000 Americans. I urge the American public today to talk to their loved ones about the threats and dangers of fake pills and the simple fact that one pill can kill.”
Mexican criminal drug networks are mass-producing illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills, reportedly using chemicals sourced largely from China, and distributing these pills through U.S. criminal networks. These fake pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions such as Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax® and other medicines.
Criminal drug networks are selling these pills through social media, e-commerce, the dark web and existing distribution networks. As a result, these fake pills are widely available and more lethal than ever. DEA laboratory testing reveals that today, four out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake pills contain a potentially lethal dose. Moreover, the number of fake pills containing fentanyl has jumped nearly 430% since 2019.
If you have any information on pills on our streets locally, you are asked to contact a local law enforcement agent or call the DCI’s drug tip hotline at 605-394-1884.
The alert, DCI states, does not apply to legitimate pharmaceutical medications prescribed by medical professionals and dispensed by pharmacists.

Ed. Note:
A friend from Madison, Wisconsin lost her son to this very epidemic this past week. Another close friend lost their 20-year-old son to the very same thing nearly a year ago. Flandreau Public Schools plans to bring Angela Kennecke to the school in in the coming weeks to talk with students about her own daughter’s fentanyl-related death and drug addiction.