A man arrested in Bricktown faces federal drug and gun charges after Oklahoma City police found 48 pills of cychlorphine on him.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) called the case only the second known instance of cychlorphine in Oklahoma, KOKH reported Sept. 2. The first was linked to the overdose death of a Yukon teenager. Cychlorphine is a synthetic opioid roughly 10 times more potent than fentanyl, according to Addiction Center, a treatment information resource.

Seryil Q. Pollard-Vick was arrested on Nov. 2, 2025, after officers spotted him smoking a marijuana blunt in a white SUV in Bricktown. When officers searched him, they found two clear plastic baggies holding 24 small pink pills and 24 small blue pills. A pistol and ammunition magazine were also found in the vehicle.

Lab testing confirmed the pills contained cychlorphine, a Schedule I controlled substance. Pollard-Vick has been charged with possession of cychlorphine with intent to distribute, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. He is being held at the Grady County Criminal Justice Authority on a federal hold without bond.

OBN spokesman Mark Woodward said drug traffickers use professional pill presses to produce counterfeits that look identical to prescription painkillers.

"Side by side, you cannot tell the difference between a 30-milligram oxy and a counterfeit," Woodward said.

On the street, cychlorphine is often pressed into counterfeit pills resembling pink 10-milligram oxycodone tablets, known as "Perc 10s," according to OBN.

The drug poses a particular danger because it may require more doses of naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, to reverse an overdose, according to OBN and Spectrum News. Standard field drug tests often cannot detect it. Specialized lab equipment is needed.

The threat is not theoretical.

On June 2, a federal grand jury indicted Shane Michael Burgess, 24, of Mustang, on a charge of distribution of a controlled substance analogue resulting in death, according to OBN. The indictment alleges Burgess distributed cychlorphine to another person on Dec. 12, 2025, and that the recipient died. If convicted, Burgess faces 20 years to life in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration and OBN investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Joynes is prosecuting.

OBN said it is working to identify the people who import, press and distribute counterfeit pills before they reach more Oklahomans. No trial date has been publicly announced in the Pollard-Vick case.