DENTON, Texas — Late last week, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office seized the largest amount of fentanyl pills in Tarrant County ever.
Now, the Drug Enforcement Administration is warning parents about an even more targeted version of the deadly that's drug popping up on the streets of DFW.
It’s rainbow-colored fentanyl, and both the DEA and a mom from McKinney who lost her son to an overdose want to warn other parents in the region about its dangers.
In 2016, Sharon Roland lost her youngest son Randy to a heroin and fentanyl overdose.
"It was right before his brother's wedding," Roland said.
Randy passed away the following Monday. He was 32 years old.
"He couldn’t save himself," Roland said. "He knew so much drug and alcohol."
While Randy worked as a drug and rehab councilor, he struggled with addiction issues of his own.
“Ultimately couldn’t save himself,” said Sharon.
Roland says her husband's death of complications surrounding a heart failure hit Randy hard.
"Randy was 14 [when his father passed]," Roland said. "Seems like he was never able to find peace after that."
Roland's way of finding peace these days is warning parents across North Texas about deadly drugs, like the new rainbow-colored fentanyl pills that the DEA warns is now on our streets.
“These are in different shapes and sizes, almost looking like your grocery store cereal marshmallow,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo Chavez.
On four recent occasions, Chavez said, hundreds of such pills were confiscated in Dallas.
Authorities telling us drug traffickers are disguising them in brightly colored packaging to get them across the border.
“In blocks -- almost like the sidewalk chalk your kids might use,” Chavez said.
Hearing that hits parents of fentanyl victims like Roland hard.
“You think, it won’t happen in my family, it happens in a certain kind of family," she said. "It happens in all families."
With that in mind, Roland is trying a new approach to help fight addiction.
A food pantry in honor of Randy sits outside of her family's law office, which sits on a busy street in Denton. The goal is to let people know they're not alone, and that there is help out there.
"It’s there 24/7," Roland said. "Anybody can take whatever they want. We try to provide the resources that aren’t intrusive, to provide whatever help we can."
Head here to read more about Sharon Roland’s organization.