'20/20' TRAVELS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND TO CHINA INVESTIGATING FENTANYL, THE DRUG THAT KILLED PRINCE AND HAS BEEN LINKED TO THOUSANDS OF DEATHS NATIONWIDE
Hour Features Interview With Prince's Half-Sister on His Death
'20/20' Airs Saturday, April 27 (10:00 - 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC
"20/20" features interview with Prince's half-sister, Sharon Nelson, on his death.
Music superstar Prince's death shocked the world when he overdosed on counterfeit prescription pills, made of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Over three years later, deaths from similar black market pills continue to plague the country. ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff investigates the crisis by shedding light on families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl and traveling to China in search of some of the undercover labs that are responsible for online sales and shipping the drug to the United States. "20/20" also features a rare interview with Prince's half-sister, Sharon Nelson, who opens up on what killed him and her family's crusade to find the source of his deadly pills. "20/20" airs Saturday, April 27 (10:00 - 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Rebroadcast. ABC OAD: 9/28/18)
Woodruff investigates online fentanyl sales; goes on a ride along with authorities in Lawrence, Massachusetts, who are cracking down on fentanyl street sales; and to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City where customs agents are fighting a nonstop battle to detect incoming packages of fentanyl.
"20/20" tells the stories of Tosh Ackerman, Catherine Brady and Tiffanie Scott, all of whom took what appeared to be anti-anxiety pills or painkillers that turned out to be counterfeits made with fentanyl. Ackerman, a 29-year-old from Santa Cruz, took what he believed was a Xanax. The next morning, he was found dead due to the fake pill. In Kissimmee, Florida, Brady was found dead inside boyfriend Eric Falkowski's home. After her death, authorities discovered bags of bogus pills and raw fentanyl powder inside the residence, evidence of Falkowski's counterfeit pill operation. After being released on bail, Falkowski fled to a town outside Nashville, Tennessee, and restarted pill production. Shortly after his arrival in Tennessee, 20 overdose calls were made in a 24-hour period in the nearby town of Murfreesboro. Authorities traced the outbreak to Falkowski and an accomplice.
"20/20" is anchored by David Muir and Amy Robach. David Sloan is senior executive producer.
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