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Deadly carfentanil drug has reached upstate N.Y.

JOHNSTOWN — A Gloversville man who last spring allegedly sold carfentanil — a new, deadlier, more addictive drug — was openly indicted Thursday by a Fulton County grand jury on four felonies.

District Attorney Chad Brown today issued a news release announcing a sealed indictment opened against Justin M. Brooker, 25.

Brooker was charged with two felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and two felony counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned before Fulton County Court Judge Polly A. Hoye, who sent him to the county jail without bail pending further court action.

The original indictment was handed up June 22.

Charges stem from an investigation by the Gloversville Police Department and members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Task Force into the unlawful sales of the pain reliever oxycodone, and carfentanil by Brooker, the release indicated.

The indictment says that at about 1:06 p.m. March 27, Brooker sold carfentanil to a confidential informant for $350 cash. The indictment also alleges Brooker possessed and sold oxycodone to a confidential informant for $350 cash on April 12.

Brown said carfentanil is a newer drug that is very addictive and is a “variation” of the already-dangerous fentanyl.

“It’s an extremely deadly and dangerous drug,” the district attorney said.

Fentanyl is an opioid used as a pain medication and together with other medications for anesthesia.

Brown said that from the training he’s taken, carfentanil is sometimes referred to as “elephant tranquilizer” because of its debilitating effect on the human body.

He said just a small grain of carfentanil — the size of a crystal of salt — can kill a person. Asked if the drug consumption and overdose situation is getting worse in Fulton County, he said it has the attention of local authorities.

“It’s something we’re definitely keeping an eye on,” Brown said.

The release pertaining to Brooker contained a statement from DEA agent James Hunt.

“Carfentanil is by far the deadliest opioid being trafficked illicitly on the street,” he stated. “DEA is not only arresting those who are distributing carfentanil, but we are also trying to educate the public on this new deadly threat. I applaud our law enforcement teams who are working on the front lines to stop the proliferation of opioid abuse and opioid-related deaths.”

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