Fort Worth man charged with trafficking fake Percocet pills laced with deadly fentanyl
Just weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott was joined by North Texas law enforcement and local families who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisonings, a Fort Worth man was charged with trafficking fake Percocet pills laced with the deadly synthetic opioid.
Troy “Roy” Wright, 40, was indicted on three counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He appeared in federal court Wednesday after a criminal complaint was filed earlier in March, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. If convicted, Wright may face up to 60 years in prison.
“Mr. Wright demonstrated his wanton disregard for the lives of his neighbors and their children when he allegedly pushed onto the streets large numbers of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, special agent in charge of DEA Dallas. “DEA and its local law enforcement partners will continue to improve the safety of our neighborhoods by working together to remove dangerous illegal drugs from our streets and hold accountable those who make these drugs available.”
According to court documents, Wright contacted an unnamed individual about selling the fake pills, which are typically used for pain. The individual ordered 200 pills for $8 each, met with Wright outside an Irving hardware store for the exchange and provided the pills to law enforcement.
The individual, working with law enforcement, later made a second transaction, buying 400 pills for $7 each, the Department of Justice said. Prior to the purchase, DEA agents followed Wright from his home in Fort Worth to a discount clothing store in Hurst where their source and Wright made the second exchange.
“Immediately after the transaction, the source texted Mr. Wright asking to purchase additional pills,” the Department of Justice said in the news release, adding that Wright responded that he was picking his children up from school but would meet afterward.
Abbott, in mid-February, said within the last year and in Texas alone, law enforcement had seized “more than 225 million deadly doses of fentanyl.”
“A deadly dose of fentanyl is just two milligrams, which is almost imperceptible to the eye, but if consumed is deadly,” Abbott said. “ And most tragically, to understand how deadly fentanyl is, if you look at the age group of those between the ages of 18 and 45, the leading cause of death is not COVID. It’s not cancer. It’s not car wrecks. The leading cause of death of Americans between 18 and 45 is fentanyl.”
Abbott was joined by Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who said that about 40% of laced pills are fatal to the consumer.
“According to the DEA right now, four out of 10 pills that we find are fatal, four out of 10,” Waybourn said at the press conference. “The odds are that it’s better to play Russian roulette than with these pills. As we’re here today, and we look around, we also find out just how easy it is.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 8:03 AM.
