Police in a Mississippi university town recently reported 11 drug overdoses, two fatal, so far this year, and say they believe drugs laced with the deadly fentanyl are to blame.

In 2020, Oxford, Mississippi, police responded to 11 narcotic overdoses. Of those 11, two were fatal. When there is an overdose call reported, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Drug Enforcement Agency work with OPD to investigate and trace the source of the narcotics.

Through the investigation, OPD has learned that people are accessing drugs through what they refer to as the darknet and receiving narcotics through the mail.

“Our agents have also traced these drugs back to our surrounding states through their investigations,” said Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen in a statement. “When drugs are accessed through these means, we know two things happen. The user does not know what they are getting or where it is coming from and it diminishes law enforcement’s ability to track and locate the source.”

In recent field tests, OPD agents have found that street-level drugs had traces of Fentanyl in them. Drugs are being cut and processed with Fentanyl so the dealer can produce more of the drug, according to OPD.

“The human body can only withstand a small microgram dose of Fentanyl,” McCutchen said. “Cross-contamination of any drug laced with Fentanyl can be deadly and that is not a risk worth taking.”