SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A Spring Valley man accused of selling a synthetic opioid that caused the death of a San Diego man has been indicted by a federal grand jury, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today.
Matthew Ray Calas, 44, allegedly advertised drug sales on Craigslist through coded language and sold a crystal powder dubbed ``red devil nitazene'' to the unidentified 67-year-old victim, who prosecutors believe died shortly after he ingested the substance.
Three months after the fatality, Calas allegedly sold more of the drugs to an undercover officer.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene, or NPP, is similar to fentanyl and other powerful opioids. NPP is in the nitazene family, and some nitazene analogs have been tied to overdose deaths, prosecutors say.
Calas faces charges that include distribution of N-Pyrrolidino Protonitazene resulting in death.
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