Police say two Cincinnati people are responsible for distributing heroin cut from the synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil.
The arrests appear to be tied to a rash of overdoses in the greater-Cincinnati area at the end of August, when more than 175 people overdosed on heroin believed to be laced with the synthetic opioids.
Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin, and carfentanil is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.
In the indictment, Phillip Watkins, 31, and Jeannetta Crawford, 26, are charged with possessing with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil.
A single overdose in Springfield Township led officers to the two arrests. Police say more arrests connected to the case are likely.
"This is the first carfentanil trafficking case that we have every brought in this district, first federal carfentanil case ever brought in the state of Ohio, first federal carfentanil case in the region, and I believe it is the first federal carfentanil indictment ever in the country," says Benjamin Glassman, acting U.S. Attorney.
Glassman says police are still looking at the sources of the heroin and carfentanil.
"We've got a bunch of different people selling carfentanil on the street, lacing heroin with carfentanil...it's ultimately coming from China through Mexico."
Watkins and Crawford face a minimum of 20 years in prison and up to a life sentence if convicted.
"We've got a bunch of different people selling carfentanil on the street, lacing heroin with carfentanil," says Tim Reagan with the Drug Enforcement Administration. "But clearly they're getting it from someone else, and someone's getting it from somewhere, and it's ultimately coming from China through Mexico."
Indiana officials believe an increase in recent overdoses could be linked to the Cincinnati area laced heroin. Fifteen overdoses in Jennings County in late August are apparently tied to fentanyl, and Columbus police responded to seven heroin overdoses within a few days this week.
Morgan County officials have begun testing for the presence of the synthetic opioids in response to an increase in overdoses.
A group of law enforcement and health officials in Cincinnati are planning an alert system that would quickly distribute information across state lines about new drug dangers as they happen.
