“The criminalists at California DOJ conduct forensic work that greatly assists with public safety.  We are grateful to their contributions to keeping the public safe from harm.”

–CSLEA President Alan Barcelona

MODESTO – On February 11, 2024, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office issued a community alert regarding seized fentanyl that criminalists at the California Department of Justice Bureau of Forensic Services determined contained an industrial chemical commonly known as BTMPS.

According to the district attorney’s office, recently, investigators from the Modesto Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit were conducting an investigation related to the transportation and sales of narcotics. During a traffic stop related to the investigation, investigators located what they believed to be four kilograms of powdered cocaine. However, following testing at California DOJ’s Bureau of Forensic Services, the suspected cocaine was determined to be fentanyl mixed with an industrial chemical commonly known as BTMPS. BTMPS, which presents as a fine white powder indistinguishable from illicit drugs like cocaine and fentanyl, is designed to protect plastic from UV light. According to the district attorney’s office, the chemical has appeared in multiple drug markets throughout the United States over the past few months, suggesting that BTMPS is being used as a “cutting agent” (mixed with drugs to increase volume) at the highest level of the drug supply chain.

Based on the recent seizure, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, along with its law enforcement partners and Stanislaus County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS), believes that this dangerous chemical may have been mixed into the drug supply in Stanislaus County.

The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office reports that currently, there are no known scientific studies about the effect of ingestion on humans, including lasting health effects that drug users may suffer if they are exposed to BTMPS in large quantities. However, animal studies suggest that possible hazardous side effects of ingesting BTMPS include (but are not limited to) cellular mutations, respiratory and cardio toxicity, blindness, and sudden death. Additionally, there is no non-laboratory test available to determine if BTMPS is present in drugs.