Three New York residents died from fentanyl overdoses after ordering cocaine from the same drug delivery service, according to a report published by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, October 23.
Julia Ghahramani, a 26-year-old lawyer, died from a fentanyl overdose in March 2021. On the same day, 40-year-old business executive Ross Mtangi and 38-year-old social worker Amanda Scher also died from fentanyl overdoses. The three professionals ordered cocaine from a delivery service on the same day, but the drugs were mixed with a lethal amount of fentanyl.
The alleged dealer, Billy Ortega, is being charged with causing the three deaths, in addition to drug trafficking. He has pleaded not guilty in the case and is awaiting trial.
Prosecutors allege that Ortega was a family man who sold drugs from his home in rural New Jersey and used a messenger, Kaylen Rainey, to deliver the drugs. Rainey was living in an apartment in Manhattan registered to Ortega’s family and received instructions via text messages to make the deliveries. Rainey has also pleaded not guilty.
Fentanyl increases overdose death surge in the US
Cocaine is a popular drug among professionals in New York. Health authorities estimate that usage rates in the city are over 2% higher than in the rest of the country.
But a deadly trend in the cocaine market has caught the attention of authorities: many dealers are mixing fentanyl into their batches.
New York recorded 980 cocaine-related deaths in 2020, with 81% of those deaths related to fentanyl use.
What is fentanyl
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain treatment in cancer patients, applied via a patch on the skin. Due to its powerful opioid properties, fentanyl is also diverted for abusive use. It is added to heroin to increase its potency. Many users believe they are buying heroin and do not realize they are actually purchasing fentanyl—which often results in overdose deaths. Illicitly produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico.
Sources: Wall Street Journal and Fox News