Counterfeit pain pills likely came to Prince illegally

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The disclosure that some pills found at Prince's Paisley Park home and studio were counterfeit and contained the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl strongly suggests the pills came to the superstar musician illegally.

But exactly how Prince obtained the drugs is still unknown, four months after he collapsed in an elevator on April 21 and died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. Authorities have so far revealed little about their investigation, saying it's active and moving forward.

But former prosecutors and defense attorneys who are familiar with drug investigations say it's likely someone will be prosecuted, whether or not Prince knew he was consuming illegal drugs.

"They will not say it was just Prince's fault and let it go at that," said Phil Turner, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago now in private practice.

An official close to the investigation told The Associated Press on Sunday that some of the pills found at Paisley Park were falsely labeled as a common generic painkiller similar to Vicodin, but actually contained fentanyl. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, also said that records show Prince did not have a prescription for any controlled substances in Minnesota in the last 12 months.

The only way to get fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin – is through a legal prescription, or illegally from the black market, said Joe Tamburino, a Minnesota defense attorney.

"When you have weird stamped pills in aspirin bottles, sometimes things are what they seem, which is illegally obtained controlled substances," Tamburino said. "How he got them? Who knows."

Fentanyl has been responsible for a surge in overdose deaths in some parts of the country. When made into counterfeit pills, users don't always know they're taking fentanyl, increasing the risk of fatal overdose.