REDMOND, OR -- A Bend man faces charges after drug detectives say he tried to throw fake fentanyl pills from his moving car before a traffic stop. The Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team pulled over 41-year-old Michael Hollibaugh early Friday morning on Highway 97 after detectives say he was identified as a trafficker, bringing fentanyl from the Portland area to the High Desert for distribution.

CODE Detectives and DCSO Deputies gathered and seized a commercial quantity of fake pharmaceutical tablets made of fentanyl and other evidence of commercial drug sales. 

Hollibaugh became unresponsive in the back of the patrol car and was taken by medics to the hospital. He was later released to deputies and booked into the jail. He's charged with Unlawful Possession and Attempted Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Fentanyl) and Tampering with Evidence.

Fentanyl is a very strong synthetic opioid. Although fentanyl is made and used pharmaceutically, it is also produced illegally in Mexico and trafficked into the United States, usually as powder or fake prescription pills. A very small amount of fentanyl can cause someone to overdose and die.