Tampa police: Man arrested, 7 hospitalized after taking drug laced with fentanyl and tranquilizer

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Police arrested a man who they say dealt tainted drugs to several people, some of whom were found unresponsive on the ground Tuesday night.

Albert Wyche, 42, was arrested and charged with a count of delivery of a controlled substance, according to a Tampa Police Department news release.

Officers responded just before 10 p.m. Tuesday to a call in the area of 34th Street North and Osborne Avenue, near Jackson’s Market in the Jackson Heights neighborhood, where six people were found on the ground. All were having a hard time breathing, and several people were found unresponsive, police said.

Narcan, a medicine used to reverse the effects of an overdose, was provided. One person reportedly told police they all took a drug and had a bad reaction.

According to the department, the drugs were tested and found to contain fentanyl mixed with xylazine — a veterinary tranquilizer not approved for human use, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Officers were also sent about a half-mile away to the area of North 33rd Street and East 38th Avenue, where another person was experiencing similar symptoms. They, too, were taken to a hospital.

Everyone eventually came to and was able to breathe on their own while at the hospital, Tampa police said.

An investigation into the incident involving the allegedly bad drugs is ongoing.

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