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NIBLEY, Cache County — A Utah man was arrested for investigation of manslaughter and drug-related charges after he provided illicit drugs to a man who died of an overdose, according to the Cache County Sheriff's Office.
The investigation began Oct. 13, 2023, when police responded to the death of a 37-year-old man with a known history of drug addiction. The man's body was discovered in his room by family members who then contacted deputies.
The man's brother told deputies he had overheard a drug-related conversation over the phone the night before about 10:30 p.m. when his brother was talking with someone. Upon investigation, deputies located "numerous medications, among these were three blue pills which had markings and appearance consistent with counterfeit oxycodone comprised of illicit fentanyl," according to a police booking affidavit.
The medical examiner later determined drugs were present in high enough concentrations to cause death. Early in the investigation, deputies learned the man's friend and co-worker Hamud Issa Abdullahi, 36, "had likely provided him with the drugs that caused his death," the affidavit alleges.
Abdullahi was detained and interviewed at the Cache County Sheriff's Office where deputies said a search warrant for his cellphone revealed text conversations regarding the purchase and distribution of pills, in quantities ranging from several pills up to 280. Among those conversations was one with the deceased man about "obtaining blues, which is known to be slang for fentanyl," according to the affidavit.
A CashApp screenshot between the two men showed a payment of $60 for the pills, investigators said.
Abdullahi later "admitted knowing that the pills could have been fentanyl, and admitted that selling him the pills was very stupid and reckless, nodding when I asked if he had made a mistake," investigators wrote in the arrest report.
He was arrested Wednesday for investigation of manslaughter, distribution of a controlled substance and obstruction of justice.
