Fentanyl discovered in Framingham police station cellblock May 29, 2018
Scott Calzolaio 508-734-0389 Metrowest Daily News
FRAMINGHAM - Framingham police were forced to decontaminate the station's cellblock after a confirmed fentanyl infiltration on Monday afternoon.

Police dispatch indicated that around noon a team was sent to wash down a cell because the drug was somehow smuggled into the police station following an arrest. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, which can often stronger than heroin and can cause respiratory distress or death when taken in high doses.

Police Lt. Patricia Grigas said as of Monday evening it's unclear how the drugs got into the station, and the cellblock.

"They found some drugs in one of the cells and they tested for, I think, a fentanyl mix, and because of that we had to decontaminate the cellblock," she said.

Those held in custody of the police were evacuated and sent to adjacent facilities for a short period of time before returning to their cells in Framingham hours after the cleaning took place, she said.

Grigas said it is unclear at this time how the drugs made it past initial security and into the cellblock. These matters are presently being investigated, she said.

At this point the identity of the prisoner involved is being undisclosed, but Grigas is sure proper charges will be placed on them after this incident.

The cellblock at the Framingham Police station can hold up to 21 prisoners, and during the incident, she said, the people in there were moved elsewhere until the cells no longer had any trace of the deadly substance left.


It's not clear if they could remove all traces since they could not properly identify fentanym to begin with.

There is no mention of how many prisoners were in their cages and how much it costs to move them whereever they were placed.

If I read this correctly, the false-positive test would show fentanym in the police chief's office.

Tests in Framingham jail show substance not deadly May 30, 2018
Henry Schwan 508-626-39649 Metrowest Daily News
FRAMINGHAM - One day after police believed a "fentanyl mix" may have been found in a station cellblock, tests showed it was not the deadly synthetic opioid.

Tests done Monday by Framingham police on a substance described as a crushed pill determined it was a "pharmaceutical-grade drug," Lt. Patricia Grigas told the Daily News on Tuesday.

On Monday, Grigas told the the Daily News that police had believed the substance may have been a "fentanyl mix."

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and 50 to 100 times more potent that morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

A small amount of fentanyl can cause a severe or potentially-deadly reaction, the DEA website states.

Framingham police conducted two tests Monday. The first tested false-positive for fentanyl, Grigas said. The second showed no fentanyl.

The substance belonged to a female prisoner held in the Framingham police station cellblock at the time the substance was found, Grigas said.

Her identify was not released, and police said she was held on an unrelated warrant.

It is unclear how the substance got into the station, Grigas said.

The substance was found 10:30 a.m. Monday. Prisoners were removed, and taken to holding cells in nearby communities while the area was decontaminated

Prisoners returned to the Framingham cellblock at 2:15 p.m. Monday, Grigas said.

The cellblock can hold up to 21 prisoners, police said.

Send comments to: hjw2001@gmail.com