Woman Arrested By Police In Grand Junction, Colorado Was In Possession Of Fake Pills Made of Fentanyl

To learn more about fentanyl an how it gets into counterfeit pills, read PSM’s Fentanyl 101

A woman is behind bars in Grand Junction, Colorado after she was found in possession of two bags containing hundreds of pills that police believe to be counterfeit fentanyl pills, according to The Daily Sentinel. Police pulled over Marie Matos on a separate outstanding warrant. After taking Matos into custody, a K-9 officer indicated that there were narcotics in the car. A search of the vehicle produced two bags containing hundreds of white, blue, and light green pills. In an affidavit for this case, an officer wrote that even though the pills had markings as if they were oxycodone pills, “based on training, experience and knowledge of this case these are fentanyl pills….”

Previously, law enforcement in Grand Junction ran into pills matching these in a separate case tied to Matos. A federal indictment was issued against Bruce Holder in August 2018 after authorities alleged that Holder was the source of counterfeit fentanyl pills that caused one fatal and one non-fatal overdose. According to U.S. Assistant Attorney Jeffrey Chaffin, Holder allegedly made monthly trips to Mexico to purchase counterfeit oxycodone pills by the thousands. Once back in Colorado, the pills sold for $20 each. At the time of Holder’s arrest, he and Matos were married. His trial has yet to begin.

The pills weighed a total of 251 grams. A judge in the Meda County Court issued a $100,000 cash-only bond on the drug distribution charge. According to court records, Matos has another bond hearing scheduled on January 31, 2019.