Suspected pink cocaine found in DEA operation at underground nightclub
'As you may suspect, when the cops showed up at the door, most of the drugs hit the floor. We did find cocaine looks like some pink cocaine,' DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen told FOX31's Nexstar partner station in Colorado Springs at a press conference.
October 2024: What is the recreational drug 'pink cocaine'?
The DEA said that pink cocaine is new to Colorado. FOX31 is speaking to experts about it and the risk this drug brings to the state.
'It's kind of a counterfeit version of what a drug that was first created in the 'seventies '70s and it's a whole family of drugs called 2C compounds,' Robert Valuck, the director of the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention at CU Anschutz, said. 'But ironically, pink cocaine almost never has cocaine in it. It's just a powder. It has ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine and caffeine are the four most common things that are in it.'
Valuck tells FOX31 the medical community is discussing the drug at national summits, considering it an 'emerging threat.'
'I call it a Russian roulette powder, you really don't know what you're getting,' Valuck said. 'It could have psilocybin in it or fentanyl in it. It can kill you. It could just be worthless and be a total waste of your time, money and effort because all it is is lactose. And sometimes people put caffeine powder in it because it's weak and cheap and it makes people think they bought something special.'
In February, the DEA told FOX31 that Tusi is connected with the gang Tren De Aragua.
Denver police chief, mayor react to South American gang presence in city
'No one knows what's in it except the person who made it and that could be with a cartel or it could be somebody making it in their basement, who knows where it came from. It's very dangerous because you don't know what it is,' Valuck said.
'A lot of the ways people are getting these drugs happen on social media. It happens with these encrypted chats,' said Steve Carlton, CEO and chief clinical officer of Porch Light Health. 'The transactions are happening over Venmo and these other means of transferring money. You don't even have to meet your drug dealer anymore to procure drugs. And with that in mind, you just you really you can't be too you can't feel too safe that you are buying what you think you're buying.'
Carlton recommends that users implement a drug test kit to figure out substances before using them.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Video appears to show Putin's bodyguards armed with a handheld anti-drone interceptor
A new video appears to show one of Putin's bodyguards equipped with an interceptor drone. The footage aligns closely with Putin's inspection of commanders at this year's Victory Day parade. The device closely resembles the Yolka, designed to crash into incoming attack drones. A newly surfaced video appears to show a member of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's security detail holding an interceptor drone while watching over his boss. The undated clip was posted on Tuesday by Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian analyst known locally for his expertise on drone warfare. The video appears to depict Putin inspecting and greeting senior uniformed officers in a parade-like fashion at Moscow's Red Square — a sign that the footage was filmed during a Victory Day parade on May 9. In the footage, shot on the sidelines of the parade, a man can be seen in the foreground following Putin's movements while holding a device resembling a Russian Yolka interceptor drone and its launcher. The Yolka, fired from a handheld launcher, features four fins on its front and another four larger fins with propellers on the back. In the clip, similar fins with propellers can be seen on the device in the man's hands. The Yolka is a kinetic interceptor that's meant to fly into the path of an incoming first-person-view drone and destroy the attacking device by collision. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage. However, parts of the video align closely with a livestream of Putin meeting contingent commanders at this year's Victory Day parade. Several officers, such as a colonel of the Russian army and a colonel of the Russian airborne forces, are seen in both videos saluting and shaking hands with Putin. The man seen holding the device is also dressed consistently with what Putin's bodyguard detail was wearing on that day: with a suit, navy blue tie, and a red lanyard. Additionally, two of Putin's other bodyguards, seen in the clip of the apparent drone, can also be seen in official TV footage of the parade segment. The appearance of a Yolka drone in Putin's security detail coincides with Russia's heightened drone defenses at this year's parade, which Ukraine threatened to disrupt with uncrewed aerial system attacks. Long-range drone strikes that month had forced Moscow's four airports to close multiple times. The Yolka, however, is more suited to fighting lighter drones, and its appearance at the parade could indicate that Russia also prepared a contingency for a drone attack from within the city. While militaries have historically relied heavily on electronic warfare to counter uncrewed aerial threats, the recent rise of unjammable fiber-optic drones, which use cables instead of radio, has put greater emphasis on air defenses that use kinetic force. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business Insider
Video appears to show Putin's bodyguards armed with a handheld anti-drone interceptor
A newly surfaced video appears to show a member of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's security detail holding an interceptor drone while watching over his boss. The undated clip was posted on Tuesday by Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian analyst known locally for his expertise on drone warfare. The video appears to depict Putin inspecting and greeting senior uniformed officers in a parade-like fashion at Moscow's Red Square — a sign that the footage was filmed during a Victory Day parade on May 9. In the footage, shot on the sidelines of the parade, a man can be seen in the foreground following Putin's movements while holding a device resembling a Russian Yolka interceptor drone and its launcher. The Yolka, fired from a handheld launcher, features four fins on its front and another four larger fins with propellers on the back. In the clip, similar fins with propellers can be seen on the device in the man's hands. The Yolka is a kinetic interceptor that's meant to fly into the path of an incoming first-person-view drone and destroy the attacking device by collision. Business Insider could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage. However, parts of the video align closely with a livestream of Putin meeting contingent commanders at this year's Victory Day parade. Several officers, such as a colonel of the Russian army and a colonel of the Russian airborne forces, are seen in both videos saluting and shaking hands with Putin. The man seen holding the device is also dressed consistently with what Putin's bodyguard detail was wearing on that day: with a suit, navy blue tie, and a red lanyard. Additionally, two of Putin's other bodyguards, seen in the clip of the apparent drone, can also be seen in official TV footage of the parade segment. The appearance of a Yolka drone in Putin's security detail coincides with Russia's heightened drone defenses at this year's parade, which Ukraine threatened to disrupt with uncrewed aerial system attacks. Long-range drone strikes that month had forced Moscow's four airports to close multiple times. The Yolka, however, is more suited to fighting lighter drones, and its appearance at the parade could indicate that Russia also prepared a contingency for a drone attack from within the city. More videos of Russian Yolka interceptor drones in action in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian expert Serhii Flash, the Yolka still isn't in widespread use. Second photo lists purported specs. … — John Hardie (@JohnH105) May 26, 2025 While militaries have historically relied heavily on electronic warfare to counter uncrewed aerial threats, the recent rise of unjammable fiber-optic drones, which use cables instead of radio, has put greater emphasis on air defenses that use kinetic force.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
At least 17 killed after gunmen storm small-town bar in Ecuador
Gunmen in Ecuador have killed at least 17 people, including a child, in an attack on a bar, the latest incident to underscore the South American nation's challenges with rising violent crime. The country's attorney general said on Monday that more than 40 pieces of ballistic evidence were recovered from the bar in the small town of El Empalme, located about 160 kilometres [100 miles] north of the city of Guayaquil in the coastal province of Guayas. Images shared by Ecuadorian media show bodies and pools of blood across the floor of the bar. Ecuador has reeled from a surge in violent crime over the last several years, which experts say is largely driven by criminal groups sparring over territory and lucrative drug trafficking said that groups of gunmen in two trucks opened fire on the bar with pistols and rifles on Sunday night in an attack that also injured at least 11 people, with other reports putting the number as high as 14. One minor hit in the attack ran more than a kilometre before collapsing in the street and dying from his wounds. The news agency AFP reported that the trucks full of men also shot and killed two more people at a different location, and that the men shouted 'Active Wolves!' during the attack on the bar. El Empalme police chief Oscar Valencia said the term was a possible reference to the criminal group Los Lobos, which competes with another group, Los Choneros, for control of drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and illegal mining President Daniel Noboa has pushed for expanded powers for the executive and state security forces in the name of addressing crime, measures that have mostly won over public support despite concerns over potential abuses. Solve the daily Crossword
