Deadly drug xylazine found in Martin County
Martin County, Fl (treasurecoast.com) -The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says a new drug has hit the streets and the effects aren’t pretty.
The drug is called Xylazine, aka Tranq. Deputies were made aware of it after they arrested drug trafficker Kristen B. Swift during a controlled narcotics buy in 2022.
Here is the info:
IT’S HERE, AND IT’S NOT GOOD NEWS
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Unfortunately, we have confirmation that the drug Xylazine, AKA Tranq, has made its way to our area, and its effects are not just ugly, they can be deadly.
Just recently, the MCSO Special Investigations Section obtained lab results stemming from the arrest of Kristen B. Swift who was taken into custody during a controlled narcotics buy in 2022. During that arrest, Martin County Sheriff’s Special Investigations detectives seized the Fentanyl that Swift was selling locally and throughout the region. The recent lab results confirm that the Fentanyl Swift was selling also contained the drug Xylazine or Tranq, a substance that when cut with illicit drugs like fentanyl or heroin increase the chance of an accidental overdose. Even more alarming, Tranq does not respond to Narcan, therefore eliminating an overdose victim’s chance of survival.
We have heard a lot about Xylazine on a national level. It was first seen in Puerto Rico. The drug trend then began decimating large cities such as Philadelphia. But as expected, it has made its way to smaller more rural and suburban communities.
Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer. Dealers are mixing, or “cutting” their illicit drugs with Tranq as a cheap way to make the drugs more potent and marketable on the streets. A tranq user is likely to have severe, very noticeable large open wounds throughout their body.
MCSO will be sending additional samples of Fentanyl collected on scenes of the fatal overdoses we have investigated over the past year to determine if Tranq played a role in any of these local deaths.
The MCSO drug case against Swift was turned over to the Federal Authorities. She is now serving four years in prison.
