Drug trafficking

Deadly fentanyl bought online from China being shipped through the mail

By now, you may know a family shattered by the opioid epidemic. In 2017, there were 47,000 opioid deaths. That's more Americans than were killed in vehicle accidents or by firearms. One drug, fentanyl, is like rocket fuel in the sharp rise of this crisis. Fentanyl is a painkiller invented in the 1960's and used to relieve the agony of advanced cancer. It is 50 times more potent than heroin. But today fentanyl can be ordered on the internet, by drug dealers and addicts, for an online overdose. Tracking the source of this illicit trade is a story that begins with James Rauh. Like most in Akron, Ohio, he'd never heard of fentanyl until the police told him his son was dead.