Camden man accused of selling drug more dangerous than fentanyl

NEW YORK CITY – A Camden man is accused of selling a synthetic opioid here that’s up to three times more dangerous than fentanyl.

Erik Alberto Lopez Valdez, 38, and a New York man were charged with distribution of the drug, protonitazene, and conspiring to distribute fentanyl, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

Protonitazene "is as much as three times more deadly than fentanyl," said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The synthetic sedative has prompted warnings to drug users in multiple countries since it emerged about three years ago.

Authorities in Australia this month cautioned that cocaine was being mixed with protonitazine in Melbourne, noting the synthetic sedative has a potency more than 100 times that of heroin.

Mixing the drug with depressants like alcohol, Valium or Xanax increases the risk of an overdose, the warning said.

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In New York City, drugs sold in two transactions in April were found to be primarily protonitazene, said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“We will not allow drug dealers to hide behind novel changes to the chemical structure of drugs to avoid prosecution,” he said in a July 18 statement.

Lopez Valdez, described in a criminal complaint as a courier, allegedly delivered a 420-gram package of narcotics to an informant on April 16. the statement said.

The second suspect, Miguel De Jesus Reyes Medina, 49, of Yonkers, arranged that sale for $12,250, the statement alleged.

Reyes Medina also allegedly sold 74 grams of the suspected opioid to the informant for $2,000 on April 10.

Each is in federal custody.

If found guilty of conspiring to distribute fentanyl, each man faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The charges are only allegations. No one has been convicted in the case.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden man accused of selling drug more dangerous than fentanyl