Five West Point Cadets Overdose With Fentanyl On Florida Spring Break

After consuming a powdered drug purchased in Fort Lauderdale, Florida during a spring break trip, five West Point cadets reportedly overdosed on fentanyl. Four of the victims were hospitalized, and the suspect who likely made the sale has been arrested according to Wilton Manors police.

West Point Overdoses

The victims called the fire department to their vacation rental home in Wilton Manors, where they reported six men and a seventh woman were reporting feeling ill and displaying overdose symptoms. Four men were transferred to the hospital immediately, with the woman joining them later. The police first identified all six men involved in the incident as West Point cadets, but a spokesman for the military academy later denied this and said there were five cadets involved in the overdoses.

The dealer, identified as Axel Giovany Casseus, was arrested on Friday after selling cocaine to an undercover detective who got his phone number from the victims. It was suggested in his Saturday hearing that Casseus admitted to a drug sale involving West Point cadets. Casseus is being held in Broward County Jail in lieu of being able to pay a $50,000 bond.

The substance was tested on-site and identified to be laced with fentanyl, a deadly and hard-to-detect synthetic opioid drug that was a major part of the concerningly high number of overdose deaths last year. According to the CDC, more than 100,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. from April 2020 to April 2021.

It was confirmed by the director of public affairs and communications of West Point, Lt Colonel Ben Smith, that the people involved were indeed cadets at the Academy and that West Point is conducting an independent investigation into the matter. The cadets’ names haven’t been released, and there were no deaths from the overdoses.