San Francisco police have arrested four suspects, recovered multiple firearms, and seized over 20,000 counterfeit pills – some containing cychlorphine, a new synthetic drug that is up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl.
The arrests resulted from a months-long investigation that started with the fatal overdose of a San Francisco teenager, according to San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Chief Derrick Lew on Monday.
SFPD opened its investigation after officers responded on April 7 to a home on Bush Street, where a mother had found her teenage son deceased due to a suspected overdose.
Officers from the narcotics unit collected evidence, including what appeared to be pharmaceutical medication, to determine the source of the pills, SFPD said in a statement.
During testing, officers found that the pills were counterfeit, with some containing the synthetic drug cychlorphine.
The drug was first detected in the United States at a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laboratory in Florida in April 2024. Later that year, the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education confirmed identity of the drug through reference materials, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.