The Dutchess County Drug Task Force says it has disrupted a drug pipeline that has been funneling counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing deadly Fentanyl into the region.

Police say Shawn W. Phillips, 40, was arrested Friday in Red Hook for criminal possession of a controlled substance (Fentanyl) with intent to sell.

The arrest came after a several months-long investigation into Fentanyl sales in the Dutchess County area.

Police say Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine, but is 50 to 100 times more potent. According to the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of Fentanyl can be lethal. According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66% of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like Fentanyl. In 2021, the Dutchess County Drug Task Force recorded more than 100 fatal drug overdose deaths within Dutchess County with Fentanyl being involved in an overwhelming amount of cases.

Phillips was arraigned in the Town of Hyde Park Justice Court and remanded to Dutchess County jail without bail.

Anyone with information regarding this case, or about any other individuals selling drugs in Dutchess County, is asked to contact the Drug Task Force confidential tip line at 845-463-6040.