LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - It only takes two milligrams of fentanyl to kill a person, that’s equal to 10 to 15 grains of salt to be considered a lethal dose.

In part two of KGNS Special Report ‘Fentanyl the Silent Killer’, first responders and health experts explain the effects this drug has on the human body and what trends they have seen when responding to a suspected overdose.

The job of a first responder comes with a lot of responsibility from having the proper training and applying it out in the field.

So far, the Laredo Fire Department has responded to 188 possible overdose cases in town this year, and last year there were 193 reported.

“We will simply treat signs and symptoms many of them are not responsiveness, shallow breathing, cyanosis lack of breathing, pinpoint pupils usually related to opioids,” said Laredo Fire Paramedics Ricardo Oliva Jr.

Oliva said officials have noticed that they are using more narcan to try to reverse the overdose.

“Narcan competes with the receptor sites against opioids in this case. The opioid will have a specific effect on the body causing that euphoria,” said Oliva.

According to Oliva, in some cases, by the time first responders arrive at the location, narcan is not enough to save the patient.

So far in 2023, the City of Laredo has reported 53 overdose related deaths; luckily, some people do survive.

“So a lot of the times when they do come out and we bring them out of this overdose state we are met with a lot of anger because you did take them out of their high, we are met with the person who doesn’t know what’s going on initially,” said Oliva.

Medical professionals say they can see a few overdoses in a couple of weeks. This is due to the drugs that are out in the community being laced or having a high concentration of the drug. They call this a bad batch.

Dr. Tyler King, a local family medicine physician said people using fentanyl are more likely to have respiratory distress and health problems in the long run due to the intensity of the drug.

“Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and a 100 more times stronger than morphine,” said Dr. King.

Whether people know they are using fentanyl or not, this comes with consequences when trying to become clean.

“So, the withdraw symptoms can be really severe and harsh for patients that are suffering from fentanyl addiction,” said Dr. King.

Dr. King said the withdrawal symptoms come in three phases starting with an acute withdrawal face experiencing physical discomfort.

“The second phase which ends up with the level of their addiction to what extent they are addicted to can last 10 days or more sometimes depending,” said Dr. King.

Medical professionals say the third is intensifying of the symptoms before the symptoms start to decline.

However, the feelings of drug craving, insomnia, muscle aches, irritability, and severe dehydration can appear during the recovering phase.

Medical professionals say that they are ready to respond to any emergency to continue to fight the fentanyl epidemic.

They also urge residents to keep a close eye on their loved ones.

Drug addiction has no age, race or economic status and can affect anyone.

On Tuesday on KGNS News at Ten, Lisely Garza will bring you the third and final part of the three-part report.

She speaks to a man about his road to recovery and the help available in our community.

LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - The sentencing phase for the man who pleaded guilty to opening fire on Laredo Police officers in 2019 continues.

Cesar Rene Terrazas pleaded guilty to charges of attempted capital murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault against a public servant for a case that was reported on Nov. 26, 2019 on Knoll Avenue.

While the sentencing phase is still underway, there will be no trial on Monday or Tuesday.

Judge Joe Lopez is currently reviewing evidence before making a final decision.

The sentencing trial is expected to resume on Wednesday, Oct, 25 at the 49th District Court.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - UISD is upgrading its weapons detection technology.

District officials report that the new system is not a typical metal detector and is specifically designed to detect weapons -- like firearms.

School officials say the new system is portable, wireless, and easy to set up and take down.

After a successful test run, plans are underway to have the new system set up at schools very shortly.

UISD Safety and Crisis Response Manager Ruben Ayala says, “We’ve used it already at our football game on Friday to great success. We’ve probably entered anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 people through these and it was a great success, so, they will be delivered to the campuses shortly within the next few days, hopefully. They will be trained, programmed, and ready to use at the campuses shortly.”

The district ordered 38 different units to be used at the SAC, administrative buildings, middle schools, and high schools.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The Drug Enforcement Administration reports seizing over 33,000 fentanyl pills in Laredo this year alone.

In 2022, they reported taking over 15,000 fentanyl pills off the streets.

From one year to the next, those numbers have doubled and continue to steadily increase.

In a three-part special report, we focus on how fentanyl makes its way into the country, how it affects our community, and the road to recovery from drug addiction.

In this first part, federal agencies tell us about where this drug originates from.

The Laredo port of entry is the number one inland port along the U.S.-Mexico border, and U.S Customs and Border Protection field of operations officials report that over 8,000 tractor-trailers and 10,000 vehicles cross into the United States.

CBP officers must identify each driver and make sure they aren’t bringing something into the country illegally by using K9s and X-ray machines for vehicles or individual packages.

Laredo Port of Entry Director Alberto Flores told us, “In some cases when do have something abnormal, or doesn’t seem right, or it doesn’t belong in the vehicle, it’s when we sometimes encounter that these packages more than often do contain some type of dangerous drug.”

The Laredo port of entry director says they must follow a special protocol when that happens.

For example, CBP will take the suspicious package to determine what the substance inside is.

With arm covering, gloves, and a mask, agents put the package inside what they call a glove box.

The package will be tested with a laser to identify the substance. However, if it can’t be identified, they will cut into the bundle and place a sample on a machine.

With just a click of a button and a few minutes later, they determine what is inside.

Most recently the agency has seen fentanyl or precursors of the drug.

“It comes in different types, predominantly in powder form. Again, they are all different chemicals. That is the very reason these synthetic drugs are mass-produced,” the Laredo port of entry director told us.

These precursors, which are the substances needed to make fentanyl, are shipped out of the U.S. to other countries in the world before coming back into the country.

After drugs are confiscated at the ports of entry, they work closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispose of the drug and to tackle the growing fentanyl crisis.

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Robert Kennedy says 6 months ago they found 6 out of 10 pills tested positive for deadly doses of fentanyl in their laboratories. That number now stands at 7 out of every 10 pills.

Kennedy says, ”For the cartel in Mexico it’s costing them less than 1 cent per deadly dose of fentanyl to make.”

The assistant special agent in charge says Laredo has seen a 38% increase in overdose poisoning of drugs compared to 2022.

”People that are dying here in Laredo don’t even know they are taking fentanyl. They believe they are taking something else,” Kennedy says.

The powder form of fentanyl is the most common in the Gateway City and it comes without a taste or smell.

Why is fentanyl considered a silent killer?

Kennedy says, ”When you take fentanyl, I want you to think about something. You’ll probably sit down, you’ll have a little sleepiness, and you’ll go to sleep and you’ll never wake up.”

The DEA in 2022 seized 62 million fentanyl pills.

However, the job isn’t done yet and they will continue to target drug dealers and cartel members selling drugs in the community and educating the public about the dangers of this lethal drug.

The Laredo port of entry director says when drugs are found in the community, they are brought to be tested by the agency.

On Tuesday, we’ll bring you the second part of this special three-part report on how it affects the community.

In the second part, we’ll speak to first responders about what they have seen in the community amid the growing fentanyl crisis.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) -Gulf of Mexico moist air is flowing north through our area in the lower atmosphere. This has brought cumulus clouds into our skies, and may bring a low deck of stratus in the morning. I cannot rule out a few isolated showers during Monday, but the somewhat bigger, but not large chance will be with waves in the upper level wind flow mid to late week.