Chihuahua state investigators are looking into the fentanyl poisoning deaths of five men within hours of each other in two separate locations in Juárez last week.
The Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office reported that autopsies have confirmed that all five men died from fentanyl intoxication while showing traces of cocaine usage.
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The drug-related deaths were discovered within a span of less than two hours early Thursday, May 15, at separate houses in the Oasis Revolución area in the southern edge of the city and in the Salvarcar section of southeastern Juárez, the state attorney general’s office said in news releases.
Five men died of fentanyl poisoning within two hours at two locations in Juarez, Mexico, on Thursday, May 15. In this photo, a bag containing eight kilos (17 pounds) of blue fentanyl pills was seized by the Chihuahua State Investigations Agency in mid-September 2024 in Los Alcaldes neighborhood in Juárez, Mexico.
At both scenes, investigators found small plastic packets containing about a gram to 2.5 grams of a white powder, which looked similar to cocaine but tested positive for fentanyl mixed with other substances, authorities said. Investigators are working to find the supplier of the drugs.
Prosecutor: Young men were playing video games, doing drugs
A group of young men were playing video games and consuming drugs at the first scene in Oasis Revolución, which claimed the lives of three men and hospitalized two survivors, Carlos Manuel Salas, the state prosecutor for the Northern Zone of Chihuahua, told El Heraldo de Juárez newspaper.
At 12:51 a.m. Thursday, emergency responders found two men — identified by authorities only as Francisco Ariel E.C., 23, and Jesus Miguel G.A., 21, dead inside a home on Emilio Molina street in Oasis Revolución, the attorney general’s office stated.
A third victim, Manuel Ignacio B.S., 19, died after arriving at a medical clinic.
A fourth victim, Daniel Alejandro B.B., 21, was hospitalized in critical condition in intensive care, the attorney general’s office said. Witnesses at the scene told investigators that a fifth unidentified man was transported by his family to receive urgent medical care.
Two more fentanyl deaths in the Salvarcar area of Juárez
At 2:37 a.m. that same day, police responded to a call that two men — Armando Isidro M.A., 53, and a 39-year-old man, whose name was not released — were found dead at a house on Camino Viejo a la Rosita in the Salvarcar neighborhood, the attorney general’s office said.
Police later received a report that a third man, Gustavo C.C., 37, had arrived unconscious at a hospitalized in connection with the same incident, the attorney general’s office said.
An updated condition of the survivors who were hospitalized was not readily available on Sunday.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at [email protected] and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Fentanyl poisonings rash kills 5 within 2 hours in Juárez, Mexico
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