Three men were arrested and charged in Prince William County this week in connection with the distribution of over 5,000 fentanyl-laced counterfeit Percocet pills.

       According to local police, the three men, who are from the Dumfries and Woodbridge areas, face charges of possession with intent to distribute a narcotic and other charges. Police said in a statement that they seized on Monday several firearms and “over 5,000 suspected counterfeit fentanyl-laced Percocet pills” that were “known to be distributed in the area.”

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       Police say 10 people died in fatal fentanyl overdoses in Northeast D.C.

       The arrested men were Walter Alexander Quintanilla Gomez, 23; his brother Emerson Giovanni Quintanilla Gomez, 20; and Zion Alexander Ryan, 19. The two brothers also face firearm-related charges. Another man, Joel Medina, is charged with furnishing a firearm to a minor.

       Their arrests come as officials in Alexandria warn of a spike in “suspected fentanyl-related overdoses, especially in school-aged youth,” according to the statement.

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       Officials for Alexandria said youths reported using a “little blue bill” that they thought was Percocet. The officials said illicit drugs are “often laced with fentanyl,” which is an “inexpensive substitute that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and can be deadly.”

       Alexandria police said there were two reported overdose deaths of juveniles late last month in a “neighboring jurisdiction” that involved “this same type of pill.” Many juvenile cases involve people “either smoking or ingesting a ‘blue pill’ that is being sold as a Percocet pill,” Capt. Monica Lisle, commander of the criminal investigations unit at the Alexandria police agency, said in the statement.

       D.C. officials urge caution after recent suspected fatal fentanyl overdoses

       She said officials are “doing all we can to warn youth and other community members of the resources available to combat this epidemic.”

       In Alexandria, there have been 30 opioid overdose cases so far this year, including two people who died. In the past month, there were 12 incidents. Half of them involved people under 17. Authorities said first responders used Narcan, an opioid reversal medication, in treating those dozen cases.