Berks County DA warns public after cluster of drug overdoses
READING, Pa. - A district attorney in southeastern Pennsylvania issued a public health warning Monday in the wake of a series of drug overdoses, some of them deadly, believed to involve the same substance.
Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said that a dozen people overdosed over the weekend in the city of Reading, West Reading borough, and Exeter and Rockland townships. Three died.
The overdoses involved a substance believed to be cocaine laced with fentanyl or another opioid, he said. The drugs were packaged in clear plastic packets or baggies.
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Detectives are awaiting the results of toxicology testing.
"We, as law enforcement, are combating this epidemic that has plagued our community with every resource available to us," Adams said in a statement, adding: "It is critical that the community remain vigilant and check on family and friends who may be using these dangerous drugs."
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