ILLINOIS, USA — The illegal drug market is broadening its reach across the Quad Cities area.
Purple fentanyl powder mixed with the animal sedative xylazine was seized this year in the bi-state region by Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG) agents.
"It works its way across the country pretty quick," Quad City MEG director Andrew Fratzke said.
It ends up hidden in pill form made to look like prescriptions such as Xanax and Oxycodone. Police said dealers are now marketing in more elaborate ways to young people and teens.
"We're definitely fearful it's going to hit the schools," Fratzke said. "It's already hitting colleges."
Police said it's just a matter of time before MEG agents find what appears as rainbow-colored fentanyl to look like fun and innocent candy.
"They're making them look more enticing," Fratzke said.
"It's a vicious cycle," Bridgeway health services Recovery Oriented System Of Care (ROSC) coordinator Leann Courson said.
Bridgeway works across its coverage area of Knox, Warren, Henderson and Henry counties. It regularly hands out Narcan in hopes of reversing overdoses.
"They have children and they have parents and parents are burying their children and children are losing their parents to the disease of addiction," Courson said.
According to officials, two Rock Island County women, 29 and 38 years old, have died this year after xylazine was mixed in their system. Narcan does not reverse xylazine.
"Drug addiction doesn't discriminate by age," Courson said. "Age is just a number. The disease is what's running the show."
Social media such as Snapchat is also a target where officers are finding emojis on phones being used as symbols to text drug transactions.
"There's special ones out there now, that they're communicating just for the sale of narcotics," Fratzke said. "Parents definitely need to be aware of their kids' surroundings."
Money-wiring through common phone services including Cash App or Venmo is also part of the new normal.
According to the DEA of Omaha, which covers the Quad Cities area, more than 11,000 fake fentanyl pills have been seized in the QCA in 2023. Officials said the area is still seeing more meth than any other drug.
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