Man Arrested in Connection to West Point Cadets Drug Overdoses

Axel Giovany Casseus (Broward County Sheriffs Office)
Broward County Sheriffs Office

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrested Axel Giovany Casseus, 21, on Friday in connection to the drug overdoses of six cadets from West Point military academy.

The arrest came after four male students ingested fentanyl-laced cocaine and two other males who were overcome after trying to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. One female on the scene was also hospitalized.

NBC News obtained the arrest report for Casseus, who was charged with cocaine trafficking:

Casseus supposedly supplied the narcotics that caused the mass overdose on Thursday afternoon while the spring breakers were staying on a rental home in the city of Wilton Manors, according to the arrest report.

Casseus was arrested after he sold 43 grams of cocaine for $1,000 to an undercover detective working with Broward County’s drug task force on Friday afternoon, according to the report. Detectives said the transaction was audio and video recorded.

Arrest records show Casseus is at the Main Jail in Broward County on a $50,000 bond. Court records do not yet list an attorney for Casseus as of Saturday afternoon.

“Three [cadets] still remained hospitalized on Friday — including two whose condition were critical,” NBC affiliate WSLS reported. “Two of the cadets play on Army’s football team.”

According to the CDC, “Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.”

The CDC reports that 150 people die every day in the United States from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

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