ROSWELL — Two men are facing charges they were selling powerful, potentially deadly painkillers.
According to a federal criminal complaint obtained by Channel 2's Mike Petchenik, Roswell police identified Hubert Nathans as a dealer of Roxycodone pills laced with fentanyl and began to do surveillance on his home.
“The guy’s been in and out of trouble,” said Tim Hutchison, Nathans' neighbor.
Hutchison said he thought Nathans had turned a page, but then he started seeing strange cars coming to the home.
“Up and down the street, constantly coming up to the house,” he said. “We figured he was back to doing whatever it is he was doing.”
Hutchison told Petchenik he saw police raid Nathans’ home a few weeks ago.
“I was here one day getting ready to go to work and it looked like half the police force showed up,” he said. “Clearly they knew what they were there for because they were taking their time. They were thorough.”
The criminal complaint said investigators tracked Nathans to a Pharr Road apartment building in Buckhead and to alleged supplier Edward Colton.
During a raid at Colton’s apartment, investigators said they found “11 baggies” of the pills, with 50 pills in each bag.
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“Oh my goodness,” said Dr. Gaylord Lopez, director of the Georgia Poison Control Center. “This is extremely dangerous and it’s an important find.”
Lopez told Petchenik this potent mixture is new to him.
“You can get shipped from China and Mexico and to an unsuspecting buyer they think they’re buying a particular product, when in fact they’re playing Russian roulette and don’t even know what they’re getting,” he said.
Lopez said the fentanyl can be particularly deadly.
"For many of these people unsuspectingly buying these things on the street, as little as one pill can possibly kill," he said.