Addicted to pain pills but authorities said killed by black market counterfeits that he didnt know contained fentanyl. They made them look like theyre made by a u. S. Corporation. Theyre killing people across this country. Girlfriends, mothers, sons. How can it be that hes gone tonight, were following the trail of deadly fakes. Theyre just dropping. Just hit the fan. Overdose, overdose. All the way to the source in china. Should be a highend chemical company. No prescription needed. Cheapest prices. Whos making it . Fentanyl is killing people. We know that. And whos dying from it . Princes death is a warning sign for people because he took something that ultimately killed him. Good evening, everyone. Im amy robach. And im david muir. This is 20 20. Reporting tonight on his sixmonth investigation, heres bob woodruff. Ready for takeoff. Cleared for takeoff. Reporter on a cloudy april evening in 2016, a gleaming private jet takes off from the Atlanta Airport carrying some very special cargo. On board, one of the most iconic musical superstars in the world, the purple one himself prince. Purple rain reporter this is video of prince in atlanta that night for a solo acoustic concert billed as a piano and microphone show. This was a stripped down show. And in fact, he did two concerts in one night, then he was scheduled to fly back to minneapolis. Reporter sharing that late night flight home, his bodyguard kirk johnson, and close companion 31yearold performer judith hill. Judith hill was a wellregarded backup singer. She was hired by Michael Jackson to sing a duet on what would have been the this is it shows. And she also appeared on the voice and did quite well. Reporter hill and prince are about halfway into that flight from atlanta when theres a midair crisis. Hes just limp. Hes like, were shaking him, theres nothing. Reporter in this never before heard audio obtained by 20 20 hill later tells authorities that all of a sudden her famous companion was slumped over unresponsive. He looked dead and i was freaking. I was just like, my heart was pounding. He looks like lifeless, lifeless. Kirk and i went straight to the cockpit and were like, we got to like, land, we have to land. We have an emergency situation. Reporter the jet makes an Emergency Landing in the small town of moline, illinois, where its met by an ambulance. We got a call sometime in the middle of the night. Reporter in this exclusive audio, one of the paramedics later describes to police the desperate condition of the unconscious superstar. In my surprise i said, thats [ bleep ] prince. So i noticed that he was lying supine and he wasnt breathing. He was breathing maybe four breaths per minute. You know that death is near unless theres emergency intervention. Reporter to the paramedics, its clear that prince is suffering from an overdose. So they inject him with an opioid blocking drug called narcan. We gave him two milligrams of narcan, which was pretty ineffective. We gave him another two milligrams of narcan and that woke him up. And i was like, oh my god, thank you. Hes alive. Like, so whatever they did worked. I was like, i dont know if hes going to make it, but he got through that and i was so thankful. Reporter prince is rushed to a moline hospital, where he tells a doctor that he took two percocet painkiller pills after his show. And the doctor essentially says, b. S. , you did not. You took more than one shot to come back from whatever youve taken. Reporter for some reason, prince refuses to take a blood test to determine what caused the overdose. But then, his bodyguard hands over an aspirin bottle like this one. Inside the bayer aspirin bottle were several dozen white oval pills that had a stamp on them, watson 853. Reporter watson 853 is the mark for a prescription opioid similar to vicodin. But these pills were not just any painkillers. They were hiding a deadly secret that would reveal itself later. In the morning, prince flies home, leaving behind a mystery. No one would have imagined that anything involving drugs would have happened to prince. Prince was wellknown as being someone who did not take drugs and did not approve of other people taking drugs. Reporter it is not easy to find people close to prince willing to talk about the notoriously private star. But this woman was willing to speak to 20 20 for her first public interview chef crystal blanchette. In 2010, crystal landed a onceinalifetime opportunity as a chef for the reclusive superstar. She went on tour with him and worked at the lavish paisley park complex that serves not just as princes living quarters, but also has a full Recording Studio and performance venue. It was a beautiful experience to be able to be in the place where he, you know, kind of created his masterpieces. I want to be your fantasy reporter princes public persona may have been flamboyant and over the top, like in the iconic video for kiss. But crystal says she found the private man to be quiet and unassuming. He was always a gentleman. When i would go grocery shopping, he would come out and get the groceries. He would take the trash out for me. He was always respectful to me. Reporter but her friendly boss was also suffering from a lot of pain a result of all those years dancing frenetically on stage. He pushed his body to the limit. You know, he wore those high heels whenever he performed, and he did stuff that you could not believe when you watched him on stage. Reporter after getting hip replacement surgery, prince could be seen using a cane like here at the 2013 grammy awards. He was prescribed opioid painkillers, and crystal says he became addicted. There was a change in his moods. To just be irritable, annoyed, uncomfortable. I saw someone that i just knew i couldnt have in my life anymore. I did share, you know, with other people what was happening. And, um they just chose to ignore it. Reporter crystal says she decided to walk away from her dream gig at paisley park. But years later, her fears about princes addiction seemed to come true during that overdose crisis in moline. With his fans anxiously wondering what went wrong during the incident, prince moved quickly to reassure them that all was well. After that plane landed, he put on a party at paisley park to tell everybody who were his fans, im fine. No really, im fine. Reporter but prince clearly wasnt fine at all. Just days after that impromptu party, a man who had just traveled halfway across the country walks up to the front entrance of paisley park, looking for prince. What this visitor would find inside the fabled mansion would be a shocking and horrible twist of fate. At the very moment when it looked like prince might get the help he needed, he had died just hours earlier. Reporter stay with us. Jake. Seresto, seresto, seresto. Whatever your dog brings home to you, it shouldnt be fleas and ticks. Seresto gives your dog 8 continuous months of flea and tick protection in an easytouse, nongreasy collar. Seresto, seresto, seresto. Ohh no, jake. Seresto. 8month. Seresto, seresto, seresto. Capital one knows life doesnt update you about your credit card. So, meet eno, the capital one assistant that catches things that might look wrong, and helps you fix them. Another way capital one is watching out for your money, when youre not. Whats in your wallet . Go come on its nice to know you can be allin. Even when your bladder isnt. Poise® liners have a clean and fresh layer, and stay 5x drier. So you can stay you and stay amazing. Poise®. 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Uncover the lost chapters of your Family History with ancestry. Get started for free at ancestry. Com reporter on the morning of april 21, 2016, a man walks up to the front door of one of minnesotas landmark sites, paisley park, the home of prince. His name is andrew kornfeld, and hes the son of a prominent rehab therapist in california, on his way to treat prince. Andrew kornfeld is put on a red eye from california to the twin cities. He wants to talk to prince and see if he can convince prince to get clean off the opiates that he seems to be on. Reporter but even as kornfeld waits inside paisley park to meet prince, in an almost shakespearean tragedy, the 57year old superstars dead body is found on the floor next to an elevator. Thats the thing that breaks your heart. Prince almost got the help he needed, but he didnt. Were coming on the air with the breaking news that the pioneering musician, prince has died. We do know that prince was found unresponsive at his estate in minnesota. Reporter the stunning news of princes untimely death hits the public like a tsunami, seismic shockwaves of grief and disbelief wash over the legendary performers legion of fans all over the world. How did you feel when you heard the news today . Devastating. It was just horrifying. Youre talking about the most talented pop musician of his era. A guy who had the most astonishing assortment of talents that weve ever seen. Reporter that talent on full display during this iconic performance at the rock and roll hall of fame. So many people danced, fell in love, had the greatest nights of their lives watching prince perform. The idea that he would succumb to the same thing that had taken so many other artists, that was shocking. Reporter that deep sorrow and concern over what caused his death nice too meet you. Nice to meet you. Thank you for this. No problem. Reporter even more profound among his close family and friends. I just couldnt believe it happened, to tell you the truth. Reporter in a rare interview, princes halfsister Sharon Nelson agreed to sit down with 20 20. Did you teach him music . Oh, no. You dont teach the teacher music. Reporter to talk about her precocious musical sibling. He played the piano when he was 5. My dad would say, boy, stop pounding on those keys this is a gift, bob. Not many are born with it, but god blessed him with that gift. Reporter sharon says her halfbrothers sudden death was a complete mystery to his family. He said something at the last party he gave. He said, dont pray for me yet. Im all right. And one day or two days later, he was dead. Reporter to get to the bottom of that mystery, police go through every room of the once offlimits estate. And they find bottles filled with pills bearing that stamp watson 853. Remember, those were the same opioid pills he had with him during that overdose crisis in moline. He had a lot of pills that were scattered around and the watson 853 is stamped on these pills. And so watson 853 can be a legitimate pain reliever, similar to vicodin. Reporter but then, a huge shock, the coroners report comes out and reveals that, in fact, prince did die from an overdose. But the culprit was something that took everyone by surprise, a drug called fentanyl. What was your reaction when you realized it was fentanyl . Well, i looked it up. I had to go google it. What is this drug . What is it . I had no idea. Reporter to find out more about fentanyl, 20 20 came here, the testing labs of the u. S. Drug Enforcement Agency outside washington, d. C. Fentanyl is what we call a synthetic opioid. Its a very strong pain reliever. Reporter fentanyl is legally prescribed in patches to treat people suffering severe pain, like endstage cancer patients. Its recently made headlines as a new way to execute criminals. Fentanyl is about 30 times to 50 times more potent than heroin, and just as an example, two milligrams of fentanyl would be considered for most of the population a lethal dose. Reporter but that begs the question. How in the world did prince obtain this incredibly powerful drug . The startling answer came after investigators tested a sampling of those pills confiscated at paisley park. It was revealed that they were not legitimate prescription painkillers at all. Theyre actually counterfeits, laced with fentanyl instead of the real ingredient. That watson 853 imprint, a complete fake. It looks the same as a regular pill. And, see, thats the danger of because you dont know what youre getting. Youre getting a potential death pill. It can kill you. He wouldnt have taken a pill like that at all, had he known. But if youre taking it for pain, then you think youre gonna get healed, and youre not. Youre gonna die first. Reporter and its not just prince. Many other unsuspecting americans have fallen prey to black market counterfeit pills containing fentanyl instead of the actual ingredient. Everything from fake painkiller pills like oxycodone and percocet to xanax, an antianxiety med taken by millions. Theres so many people that are dying of this thing. Whatever it may be, theyre putting it out there. Reporter a tragic case involving counterfeit xanax unfolded near the beautiful seaside town of santa cruz, california. Here, Tosh Ackerman grew up an allamerican boy with a passion for Little League baseball. Tosh was just a great person, very kindhearted, very genuine. Reporter in october 2015, a friend gave 29year old tosh a xanax pill after he said he was having trouble sleeping. This was his room. Reporter the next morning, his mother carrie says tosh was found unresponsive in his bedroom. They tried everything they could do to revive him, but it was way too late. It was way too late. It seemed so surreal for the longest time, it still does. How can it be that hes gone and i have to live the rest of my life without him . Reporter an autopsy revealed that, just like prince, tosh had died of a massive fentanyl overdose. That xanax pill, another one of those fake pills laced with fentanyl. It was so toxic that tosh died despite taking less than half of the pill. Its russian roulette. You have no idea if this pill is one of those or not. He did not plan to die that night. He had his whole life ahead of him and wanted more. Reporter that friend, who gave tosh the counterfeit xanax, was arrested after trying to dump the pills by the side of a road. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison. But what remains unknown where those poison pills came from, and more importantly, who made them. Youre furious with the ones that actually manufactured these pills oh, yes. Yes. Its greed, just out and out greed. Those are the people who need to be held accountable. Youre poisoning people, is ultimately what youre doing. Reporter its the same mystery tormenting princes family. More than two years after princes death, authorities still havent been able to track where his deadly fake pills came from. Do you have any idea where these pills came from . None whatsoever. They dont care who lives or dies. Reporter but coming up, 20 20 travels all the way across the country to follow the trail of one of the men churning out those poison pills. Here in this florida garage, a bombshell is uncovered. The secrets of a counterfeit pill maker and who he was selling to next. Drivers just wont put their phones down. We need a solution. Introducing. Smartdogs. The first dogs trained to train humans. Stopping drivers from liking. Selfieing. And whatever this is. Available to the public. Never. Smartdogs are not the answer. But geico has a simple tip. Turn on do not disturb while driving mode. Brought to you by geico. In your noise cancelling trheadphones . 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That population decreased by one in february 2016, when police answer an emergency call here at this elegantlooking mcmansion. 911. Reporter inside they discover the body of a 40year old woman named Catherine Brady dead from an overdose of fentanyl. Her boyfriend comes under immediate suspicion. This man, 36year old Eric Falkowski. In fact, she was the mother of two of his children. Died of an overdose, and as the police came to investigate that, they searched the premises. Reporter during that search, police open falkowskis garage and are met with a huge surprise bags of bogus prescription pills, everything from percocet to xanax. And they find Something Else bags full of raw fentanyl powder. Remember, minute amounts of fentanyl are potentially lethal, yet falkowski has huge quantities of the powerful drug. Also in that garage, another astounding find a sophisticated pill press and pill stamps that falkowski used to churn out the counterfeit prescription drugs by the thousands. Even the arresting officer said to me, you cant believe how much drug stuff he has here. Hes like a huge drug store. And i said you should lock him up and throw the key away. Reporter falkowskis expertise at creating these potentially deadly counterfeit pills made no sense to Catherine Bradys father frank, who always regarded falkowski as somewhat of a deadbeat. He was pretty worthless and wanted no part of working. He was lazy. He wanted to stay in his jammies all the time. Reporter but falkowski was apparently able to find the perfect work at home job, making counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. He learned on the internet and from some friends as to how to make the mix. Reporter falkowskis lawyer David Komisar says it was also easy for his client to simply mail order the Printing Press and pill stamps online. He had bought a pill press off of amazon. He would buy counterfeit pill, dyes that would mimic the look of a percocet off of ebay. Reporter ebay told 20 20 they stopped selling prescription pill dyes a few months ago. But we were able to still find pill presses being sold by amazon, which told us there can be legitimate uses for them. Its scary that people can go online and they can buy a pill press. They can buy the pill dyes. You know, theres obviously laws that control that stuff. But you know, were not talking about people that are looking to follow the law. Reporter the dea showed us how criminals are using the equipment bought online to make their counterfeit pills. So the powder would get placed in here, so this will be the fentanyl with any other cutting agent or binder. And then as i spin the wheel, the upper punch will come down, apply pressure to create the tablet, and then up comes tablet. So you just take the pill out, put it in the little bottle and sell it. Reporter heres another key piece of equipment falkowski was able to easily buy online a v mixer. A 3,000 commercial grade pill mixing machine. His ingredients were pill binding powder and crushed tylenol mixed with raw fentanyl, which is much cheaper and more potent than other opioids. He felt like he had a relatively safe formula that would mimic the effect of a percocet. With a load of pills that he makes in a day, how much would he make . He could make 400, 500 over a course of a day. Reporter falkowski thought he had hit the jackpot with his counterfeit pill operation, showing off his expensive home and flashy vehicles on his facebook page. But it all came crashing down when his girlfriend died after taking his product. Falkowski was arrested by and charged with illegal drug possession. And to the relief of catherines grieving family, was seemingly headed for a very long prison sentence. Id like to punch him in the mouth. Hes not sorry. Hes sorry he got caught and his lifestyle has been uprooted. He should be in jail forever. Reporter thats what catherines father may have thought. But were on falkowskis trail as he heads to tennessee, where the number of his victims skyrockets. It just hit the fan. It was just one after another. Overdose, overdose. Reporter a fentanyl overdose crisis in a college town. When we return. [music and singing in the background] [music and singing in the background] [music and singing in the background] get four lines of unlimited data feafor 100 a month, action plus four free smartphones when you switch now jump cut . Jump lunch . No, jump is this a lunch order . jump ooooh do they have chimichangas . Mom . mom mom mommy at t. J. Maxx we believe just because the names the same, doesnt mean the gift should be. Mom deserves better, and you do too. Get quality gifts shell love, at prices youll love. Maxx life at t. J. Maxx charmin ultra soft its softer than ever. Charmin ultra soft is softer than ever. So its harder to resist. Okay, this is getting a little weird. Enjoy the go with charmin its your time. Lf. Own it. Take off in 3. 2. Aww its time to get more. Lower fares. Better service. Sweeter rewards. Alaska airlines. You need to place yourself whilein the moment. Ears, our products make the wins more victorious. And the rewards even sweeter. You need confidence in the appliances you select to build the home and life you love. Our products and services bring moments like these to every family. Shop topbrand appliances including kenmore at sears. Welcome to nashville. For your countried safety reporter on this day, were following the trail of that counterfeit pillmaker from kissimmee, florida, 700 miles north to a small town close to nashville, tennessee. The fentanyl problem in this country is growing so fast, just hitting city after city. This is the town of murfreesboro, and this one has got a terrible story. Reporter in july of 2016, the quiet of this Small College town was shattered by a series of emergency calls. Go ahead, caller. My fiance, hes odd on something. Reporter paramedic jody hobbs says the calls flooded in from all over town. It just hit the fan. And it was just one after another. Overdose, overdose. Reporter one victim found here in this burger king parking lot. And he wasnt breathing . No, he was not breathing at all. They were just droppin . Yeah, like flies. Literally. Reporter another woman found collapsed inside this biker bar. Yeah, pretty much came in here, seen her in the bathroom and pulled her out. Reporter all told Officials Say there were 20 overdose calls in a 24hour period, stretching Emergency Responders close to the breaking point. We were running low on narcan. So many doses had been used, were like if this keeps up were in trouble, yeah. Reporter what paramedics discovered was causing the alarming outbreak, these percocet painkiller pills, bearing the stamp a333. But just like those pills that killed prince and Tosh Ackerman, its discovered theyre complete fakes containing the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. It was marked as percocet, looked just like a percocet. Exact same markings. Oh, it looked exactly like it. Reporter while paramedics are able to save most of the victims, it was too late for two of them, including a woman found here at this housing complex, 33yearold tiffanie scott. We get there, and we go to the back bedroom, and she was in her bed and she had died. Reporter just like prince, tiffanies family says she was given pain drugs after a medical procedure and was left hopelessly addicted. But when the government just started cracking down on these legal opioid prescriptions, tiffanie, and a lot of americans, just turned to the black market, to buy their pills, right there on the streets. She thought shed be doing her every night or everyday habit, take one and go to bed, and she never woke back up. Reporter tiffanies family, keenly interested in finding out who gave her those fatal counterfeit percocets. Her brother derrick says one of tiffanies friends revealed to him that the supplier was someone named punky. I started questioning, i was like, whats punkys last name . Wheres he living at . Reporter it turns out punky is the nickname of a local man named jonathan barrett. Hes arrested. And during his interview with police, barrett admits to callously continuing to sell those deadly pills for 9 a pop even after learning from a friend that they were causing overdoses. She was like, those pills aint percocets. They messed monk and cassie up where they had to go to the hospital. Okay, do you sell more pills after that . Yeah. Okay, then when do you find out that somebody dies . Later that day. Reporter barrett and other tennessee dealers are charged with selling the counterfeit percocet pills. Through them police are able to track the pills back to the person who made them. And believe it or not, it was none other than Eric Falkowski that man remember months earlier falkowski was arrested after his girlfriend Catherine Brady died of a fentanyl overdose and police discovered a sophisticated pillmaking operation in his garage. Catherines family thought falkowski was going to be quickly locked away. But to their horror, thats not what happened. The next thing i knew, he was out on bail and i go, oh man, hell take off. Reporter and sure enough, a flatbroke falkowski leaves florida in his tracks and ends up in nashville, tennessee. Here in music city, he hooks up with a drug dealing associate who wants him to set up a new pillmaking operation. This time on the cheap. The one thing that he needed that was seized in his previous arrest was this commercial grade vmixer. It costs several thousands of dollars. And the person that was having him make these drugs refused to buy that. Reporter so komisar says falkowskis partner came up with another idea a shocking one. To mix the pill ingredients together in an empty milk jug. And it was this mixing of these chemicals together, in a milk jug, which resulted somewhat like the three little bears. Some of the pills had zero fentanyl in em, some of the pills had just a right mix. And there were people that took em who died. Reporter and you guessed it it was those very same poorly mixed counterfeit pills that caused that terrible outbreak in murfreesboro. Were angry because of, knowing what this guy did. He came to tennessee and done the same thing to his, you know, girlfriend. Just i mean, why . How do you sleep at night . Reporter after those deadly pills were traced back to him falkowski was arrested yet again. He and his associates were convicted of illegal Drug Distribution and are looking at 20 years to life. He feels horrible about what hes done. Thats the only reason im doing this interview is to warn people dont mess with fentanyl. Its just too dangerous to use. It will take you out whether youre a rock star, or youre a street junkie. Reporter but there remains one burning question for the families of falkowskis victims just how did he and other pillmakers get their hands on that potentially lethal fentanyl powder in the first place . They need to find the source or where the people are getting the, um, the raw fentanyl. I mean, they gotta cut it off at the source. Because its falling in the wrong hands. Reporter coming up 20 20 follows the source of the fentanyl. No prescription needed cheapest prices. Reporter going online to reveal the people peddling the deadly power. Fentanyl, when it comes to the United States, is killing people. You know that. I know that. Reporter as we follow the fentanyl trail to an improbable place thousands of miles away. It should be a high end chemical company. Reporter when 20 20 continues. 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Get the latest spring trends for your home at 20 to 60 percent off Specialty Store prices. At ross. Yes for less. See that park up there, thats where i think theyre coming down from. Reporter our journey to find the source of illegal fentanyl took us here lawrence, massachusetts, where dea agents are targeting possible customers trying to buy raw fentanyl powder on the streets. If its down here and its a dope deal, its fentanyl. Its all fentanyl now. Female coming up. Yeah, thats her. Female with tan dress and cigarettes. Reporter watch closely as this female drug courier is spotted dropping off a package containing fentanyl to an undercover informant posing as a prospective customer. Shes in the car right now. And theyre doing the deed. Thats her down there. Reporter with the location now confirmed as a hot spot for fentanyl deliveries, a suspected buyer is trailed as he leaves the area in this pickup truck. Vehicle just committed to 213. Thats them right there. Reporter the state police pull the vehicle over, and a search of the drivers cigarette carton hits pay dirt five grams of fentanyl powder. So if that is five grams and its somewhere gonna be around 50 dosage units, i mean, theres possibly a lot of death. Reporter but alarmingly, it turns out theres a much easier way to score fentanyl powder without the risk of getting busted on the streets. Its the very same way that convicted pillmaker Eric Falkowski got his fentanyl. And its as easy as the click of a mouse. He did the research on the internet and discovered that he could literally go online and find fentanyl in china. Straight from china . Coming straight from china. Yes, sir. They were in a u. S. Postal service box. They were packaged and sent directly to his home. Reporter u. S. Officials say criminals like falkowski are exploiting chinas huge, poorly regulated chemical Manufacturing Industry to get their illegal fentanyl shipments. Here at u. S. Entry points, like jfk airport in new york, customs officers fight a nonstop battle to detect incoming packages containing fentanyl. You have to hunt for it. Weve got concealments like a teddy bear, greeting cards. Weve got different kinds of concealment, makes it more difficult. Do you have any idea what percentage is from china as opposed to other countries . The vast majority is from china. Reporter but could it really be that easy to mail order fentanyl from china . To find out, 20 20 simply googles buy fentanyl online. And just check out the search results. No prescription needed, cheapest prices. Reporter chinese websites brazenly offering fentanyl for sale. This one even features a clever promotional video. Forget about the questionable quality of the product, forget about problems with customs. Reporter we inquire about purchasing 250 grams of fentanyl. I am looking to buy some fentanyl. Reporter enough to make thousands of counterfeit pills. And we get plenty of takers, offering to sell to us for 1,200 to 1,600 and ship to the u. S. , no questions asked. So we decide to take it a step further thousands of miles further. In fact, traveling all the way to china to find out just who is behind those emails. Here in beijing, were able to coax a representative of one of those websites to speak with us on skype. Hello, is this lucy . Yes. Hey, im now here in beijing. Reporter this Friendly Customer Service rep called lucy was eager to show off her product to us. You want to see the product . I can show you the video, to take it now let my factory workers. Reporter and sure enough, a short while later we receive this video of what were told is raw fentanyl powder. Lucy also sends us these photos showing how the fentanyl will be packaged to get it past u. S. Customs. Wrapped in foil bags and labeled as sports powder. But when we ask if we can arrange a facetoface meeting, lucy suddenly balks. So can we come to where you are . No, sorry. I also cannot be sure if you are a real buyer. Maybe after a long time, i will trust you. Reporter so we decide to try to find the fentanyl labs ourselves, taking the fivehour bullet train ride to wuhan. A hub of chemical manufacturing in china, and the city that lucys website and others list as their place of operations. Here in this sprawling city of 19 million, people we spoke to on the street said they had never even heard of fentanyl. Never heard of it. People in china mail this to the United States . China mailed it to the usa . Yeah, and its very dangerous. People could die. Of course thats very bad. Reporter we next pay a visit to the addresses in wuhan listed on the websites of those fentanylselling labs. Looking for 1503. Lets ask him. Come on in. But here at this wuhan office park, we find a Wedding Planning company instead of a fentanyl manufacturer. They moved in last october, so the companys gone since maybe march. Reporter it was the same at this building, listed as the address for a company willing to sell us fentanyl online. Human pool. Thats not it. Nobody in this building had ever heard of this company. So the address on their website, clearly its a lie. Reporter what we found comes as no surprise to u. S. Authorities, who say most of these labs are actually clandestine, underground operations. Like this place, raided last year by chinese police. Were going to talk to one of the chinese officials who can tell us about fentanyl. This is the ministry of public security. Reporter to find out exactly what the government is doing to crack down on the illicit fentanyl trade, we arranged an interview with a senior director at the drug control office. Given the fact that in the u. S. The demand for fentanyl is skyrocketing, do you think that its even possible that china can stop the exportation of fentanyl to the United States . Translator i want to make it clear that its impossible for fentanyl thats produced legally in china to be exported to the u. S. So it must be done by criminals using underground processing plants and the internet. We got online and bought fentanyl very easily. And there was one woman we spoke to named lucy, who said she could send this to us in the United States. Is there any way to stop this from happening . Translator i agree that cybercrime is a challenge to every nation. If there are banned substances that violate the law, well conduct criminal investigations. Reporter but as for the friendly lucy, despite the government promises of a crackdown, she says her company has no plans to stop selling illegal fentanyl to the u. S. But youre okay selling Illegal Drugs . [ speaking chinese ] do you know who prince is . No, sorry. He is very famous. There have been a lot of people dying from fentanyl. Are you okay with that . I know that. They dont know how to use this. Someone use more of this product then they will die. So you must know how to use, then its safe. Reporter that callous response does not sit well with the families of fentanyl overdose victims in the u. S. The more they allow this to come into the country, this ingredient fentanyl, its gonna lead to more deaths, unless people wake up, you know . Reporter next, princes loved ones still looking for justice. You want somebody to be found responsible . I do. I do. Were gonna fight until we find em. Reporter stay tuned. My copd medicine. Thats why ive got the power of 1 2 3 medicines with trelegy. The only fdaapproved 3in1 copd treatment. Trelegy. The power of 123. Trelegy 123 trelegy. With trelegy and the power of 1 2 3, im breathing better. Trelegy works 3 ways to. Open airways,. Keep them open. And reduce inflammation. For 24 hours of better breathing. Trelegy wont replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Trelegy is not for asthma. 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Poise, the 1 brand this euphoriaw feels phenomenal feels so good better than my birthday feels so good higher than a jet plane feels so good swish up on that fadeaway feels so good even got my own parade come on what a feeling get your game on with same day delivery order pickup and drive up. Target run and done. Reporter over three years after the tragic overdose death of prince, Sharon Nelson has not given up on finding out who gave her halfbrother those deadly counterfeit pills. Dad gave him music. Reporter you want somebody to be found responsible . I do. I do. Were gonna fight until we find em. For his Family Members and for the people left behind, they want answers, you know . Where did these drugs come from . Reporter but despite a lengthy, intensive investigation, authorities have been unable to crack the case. Law enforcement worked so hard to try to find out who gave them those pills. And we were unable to determine that. Reporter why is that so hard . Well, its difficult because, for one, i think he was very private. Reporter Authorities Say their job was made more difficult by a wall of silence from princes inner circle some of whom refused to even be interviewed by investigators. Not everybody was willing to be candid and open. Reporter though the twoyear criminal investigation into princes death was closed, attorneys for his family have started their own civil investigation. His family would like us to get to the bottom of this because they would like to save other peoples lives. If this could happen to prince, it could happen to anybody else in america. Reporter meanwhile, the Ackerman Family is taking another course of action. Carrie luther, the mother of Tosh Ackerman, killed by that counterfeit xanax pill, has become a crusader. She travels the country to speak about the dangers of the counterfeit pill epidemic. On this day, speaking at the National Press club in washington, d. C. My son didnt plan to die that night. I never planned to outlive my child. Reporter toshs family determined to not let his death be in vain. A huge mural in toshs memory has been painted outside his fathers skateboard shop. This will never be gone over. This will be here as long as im here. I miss tosh every day. And i am thankful that his death is going to potentially save hundreds of lives, if not more. Reporter an optimism shared by the family of prince. When he passed, every light on every building was purple around the world. So i believe that his fans probably will never take that pill, and others should learn from it. Hopefully his death can start a conversation in this country. Tonight the cdc now says last year alone in this country more than 72,000 people died from drug overdoses. Many of those cases involving fentanyl. So if you have a Family Member or a loved one dealing with opioid addiction, you can go to our website, abcnews. Com for more resources that could help. That is our program for tonight. Im amy robach. Im david muir. Thank you for watching. Good night. Alright,yeah excited . Waaahoo. Well. That was fun, right . Its time to get more. Lower fares. Better service. Sweeter rewards. Alaska airlines