UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities have arrested two people accused of trafficking a new and powerful drug cocktail.
Officials say parents need to pay attention -- we're told the deadly mixture is being sold in suburbs and local neighborhoods
"It's so powerful," said Tony Underwood, a spokesperson for the Union County Sheriff's Office. "We're seeing more cases involving pills, variety of pills."
The ingredients for the new mixed drug are Roxicodone and Fentanyl, a drug 100 times more potent than morphine.
"We are now finding Fentanyl mixed in with cocaine, pressed into pills, masquerading as ecstasy, all because it's so cheap," said Bridget Brennan, a New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
That's exactly what Tony Underwood and the Union County Sheriff's Office discovered in a recent drug bust.
Three people were arrested in the drug raid. Two of those people were arrested for selling and delivering a "pressed" street version of Roxicodone mixed with Fentanyl.
NBC Charlotte's Xavier Walton asked if that combination could be deadly.
"Absolutely," Underwood said. "That's why you should never take something you buy on the street."
Officials say it's a potentially tragic trend on the rise in North Carolina. Experts say it's not worth the risk.
"We want the community to know this stuff is out there and it's a concern," Underwood said. "We want to keep the message alive. Parents need to talk to their kids it's not a game."