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Nitazenes are synthetic opioid drugs more powerful than fentanyl. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
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A Santa Clarita man has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge in what prosecutors believe is the nation’s first criminal case involving a death caused by the synthetic opioid protonitazene, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, was arraigned Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles on one count of distribution of protonitazene resulting in death, said federal prosecutors, who added that the drug is up to three times more powerful than fentanyl.
Collins was arrested Monday. A federal magistrate judge ordered Collins jailed without bond while he awaits a tentative Jan. 14 trial date.
According to the indictment, in the early morning hours of April 19, Collins knowingly and intentionally distributed protonitazene, which resulted in the death of of a 22-year-old Stevenson Ranch resident. In recent years, protonitazene has been sold online and is said to be significantly more potent than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times more powerful than heroin.
Collins allegedly sold the victim pills containing the synthetic opioid and arranged to sell the victim a bulk supply in the future, according to court documents. The victim ingested the pills soon afterward in the front seat of his car and quickly died. The victim’s mother later found him dead in the car parked outside her home and called 911.
Collins could face 20 years to life in prison if he is convicted, prosecutors said.
