DEA Warns Deadly Synthetic Opioids Are Spreading Across The Northshore

The Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing an urgent warning to residents across the Northshore after investigators detected an increasingly dangerous class of synthetic opioids in the local drug supply.

The drugs, known as nitazenes, have been discovered during recent investigations and laboratory testing involving drugs seized in St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes.

According to the DEA, some nitazenes can be significantly more powerful than fentanyl, meaning an extremely small amount can potentially cause a fatal overdose.

What makes the warning particularly concerning is that many people taking these drugs may have no idea nitazenes are present.

Investigators say nitazenes are being mixed with fentanyl and heroin, sold in powder form and pressed into counterfeit prescription pills. A pill made to resemble a legitimate prescription medication could actually contain a synthetic opioid powerful enough to cause a deadly overdose.

Authorities say nitazenes have been appearing with increasing frequency across the Northshore since July. In some recent investigations, the substance has appeared as a yellow powder.

However, authorities warn that appearance means very little.

There is no reliable way for someone to determine whether a pill or powder contains nitazenes simply by looking at it. Identifying the substance requires specialized laboratory testing.

The warning comes as Southeast Louisiana continues dealing with fatal overdoses.

So far in 2026, 25 people have died from overdoses in St. Tammany Parish, while another 28 deaths involved drugs as a contributing factor.

Tangipahoa and Washington parishes have each reported 13 fatal overdoses this year.

Authorities stressed that most of those deaths have not been confirmed as nitazene related. The numbers instead demonstrate the existing overdose problem facing the region as another potentially deadly substance enters the local drug supply.

Naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, can still reverse an overdose involving nitazenes. However, because of the potency of these drugs, the DEA warns that multiple doses of naloxone may sometimes be necessary.

Anyone administering Narcan during a suspected overdose should immediately call 911, even if the person initially appears to recover.

The DEA is also urging residents to never take a prescription pill unless it was prescribed directly to them and obtained from a licensed pharmacy.

Counterfeit pills can be manufactured to closely resemble legitimate medications, making it nearly impossible to know what they actually contain without laboratory testing.

Federal and local law enforcement agencies are now working together across St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes to determine where the drugs are coming from and identify those responsible for distributing them.

For residents, the warning is simple but serious: a pill that looks legitimate may contain something far more powerful than fentanyl, and a single counterfeit pill could be enough to kill.