For the third time this year, Monmouth County prosecutors recovered cyclopropyl fentanyl in the community.

"Persons buying these drugs on the black market are in grave danger. This substance is lethal." Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni said.

30 of the deadly pills were seized in Neptune Township earlier this year at the Crystal Inn, while two separate probes in Long Branch and Holmdel found additional pills.

It was the New Jersey State police forensics lab who made the discovery this week of cyclopropyl fentanyl which is a fatally-potent synthetic drug.

When the pills were found in Neptune, investigators believed them to be just that, but upon further review they were actually oxyocodone pills on the outside hiding cyclopropyl fentanyl on the inside.

The oxycodone was acting as a disguise for the more deadly pill.

"The arrival of Carfentanil and Cyclopropyl Fentanyl is a tragic development in the opiate crisis we are already facing -- especially for those suffering with an opiate addiction in Monmouth County," Gramiccioni said ."Although these counterfeit pills appear to be Oxycodone, they can have deadly consequences."

Investigators with the MCPO say these drugs were illicitly manufactured into pill form and imprinted with markings A/215, made to look like legitimate Oxycodone tablets.

"No one should be buying drugs in an illicit manner, but it's important to know how to distinguish the deadly phony drugs from the real thing," Gramiccioni said. "These pills look and feel only slightly smaller and the coloring is off by just a shade. It bears repeating...If you are buying these pills on the street, you are playing a deadly version of Russian roulette."

Carfentanil is a powerful synthetic opiate that is 10,000 times stronger than Morphine and 100 times more potent than Fentanyl.

A single granule of Carfentanil, which has been approved only for veterinary uses can be absolutely fatal upon human consumption.

Additionally Cyclopropyl Fentanyl, another form of Fentanyl, is not intended for human or vet use and has been linked to a rash of fatal overdoses across the country this summer.

The toxicity of this narcotic is so potent, the DEA issued a safety alert to law enforcement and first responders who may be accidentally exposed to Carfentanil upon human contact at a rescue or crime scene.

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