SEATTLE — The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Field Division is warning the public after police seized more than 50,000 counterfeit M30 pills containing carfentanil in western Washington.

The DEA says carfentanil is a synthetic opioid originally developed for veterinary use, more specifically to tranquilize large animals such as elephants. It is extraordinarily potent and not approved for human use, as it is estimated to be 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, after a months-long investigation, the DEA, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Federal Way Police, and Centralia Police seized 50,208 pills from a person at a Centralia gas station.

A K-9 alerted to narcotics and located the pills inside the vehicle. T

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