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Delray Beach police see surge in heroin overdoses

Posted at 10:24 AM, Jul 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-27 11:27:48-04

Delray Beach police continue to express alarm about heroin overdoses in the city.

The department says officers answered 13 overdose calls from Friday to Monday and two resulted in deaths.

One of the victims was a 35-year-old man and other was a 26-year-old man.

In Mayofficers responded to 17 heroin-related overdoses in which three people died.

Drug experts think people are turning to heroin because Florida cracked down on pain pill abuse.

Police suspect fentanyl, which is used to cut the heroin, is playing a role in the deaths. They say fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and since there is no way to know how much is in any one dose, users are gambling with their lives.

RELATED: SPECIAL REPORT ON FENTANYL

Police urge anyone who suspects illegal drug activity or drug sales to call the DBPD Tip Line: (561) 243-7839.