Abilene crime lab official: Fentanyl 'on the rise'

Diana Groom, Abilene Reporter-News
Updated ·3 min read

In both Abilene and across Texas, there has been an uptick in drug busts and cases.

In February, Abilene saw a major drug bust with ties to the Mexican cartel, along with its first fentanyl-related murder charge in connection with the death of 20-year-old Jessalyn Star Sturgill.

The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Abilene is operating five days a week to keep up with the constant delivery of suspected drugs to identify and process the drugs so cases can move forward in the court system.

Gavin Hail, 18, looks at a marijuana sample Friday at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Abilene while Benjamin Weems waits his turn and Carson Cooper uses the other microscope. They are students at the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science. The lab was holding an open house and invited the public to learn about the work conducted there.

But the lab has seen a recent uptick in the amount of fentanyl coming in, steadily catching up to the No. 1 one drug seen — methamphetamine.

Fentanyl 'definitely on the rise'

Mary Avalos Belli, the Abilene crime lab manager, said in 2023 alone, the lab oversaw 4,100 cases with a team of six forensic scientists. That included about 1,000 out-of-county cases in which the lab helped other labs, such as those in El Paso and Houston.

Fentanyl is "definitely on the rise the last couple of years," Belli said.

Christopher Cisneros, a forensic scientist at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, holds a quartz cuvette, demonstrating to visitors Friday how light passes through it to analyze the chemical composition of drugs seized by troopers.
Christopher Cisneros, a forensic scientist at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, holds a quartz cuvette, demonstrating to visitors Friday how light passes through it to analyze the chemical composition of drugs seized by troopers.

Keelan Craft, a forensic chemist, who uses lasers in the lab to help determine the identity of suspected drugs, said the largest case of fentanyl to cross the team's desk so far has been a bust of approximately 7,000 tablets of fentanyl.

One pill can kill

DPS Sgt. Marc Couch said, "Methamphetamine is still the leading drug of choice" for the area he patrols. It has been strong for years and is continuing. But he has also seen an increase in his department "seizing record amounts of fentanyl."

Forensic scientist Bethany Schroeder demonstrates how a variety of free agents react differently to individual drugs during an open house at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab Friday.
Forensic scientist Bethany Schroeder demonstrates how a variety of free agents react differently to individual drugs during an open house at the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab Friday.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, one pill can kill because seven out of every 10 pills the DEA seizes contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

In fact, the amount of fentanyl that fits on the tip of a pencil can be deadly, according to the DEA.

Couch said fentanyl does not have origins in just Mexico but all the way into China. He said a lot of the precursors for the drug come of out China, are shipped to Mexico and then cross into Texas via the southern border in pill form.

In October 2023, eight Florida indictments from the U.S. Department of Justice alleged China-based chemical manufacturing companies and China nationals were trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.

Couch said recent pop culture has seen fentanyl as a part of a fad movement. The colorful pills attract teens and young adults.

He, however, sees the drug as negatively impacting schools and the culture as a whole.

Couch said it is up to parents to better monitor their children so they are not the next victims claimed by fentanyl overdoses.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, "2mg, the amount on the tip of this pencil, can be enough to kill an average American."
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, "2mg, the amount on the tip of this pencil, can be enough to kill an average American."

Read on for tips to keep your children safe from this potent drug.

  • Be attentive to what is going on in your child's life.

  • Monitor their cell phone use.

  • Track their access to cash to see if they are storing up cash to make large purchases.

  • Meet your children's friends and their friends' parents.

  • Always know where your kids are.

  • Track their online gaming accounts.

  • Track any deliveries that they have coming to your home.

  • And remember that one pill can kill.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Fentanyl 'definitely on the rise' as DPS crime lab opens to the media