The DEA in Utah has recently seized around 170,000 fentanyl pills in just two weeks, which is a significant portion of the total amount seized in the state in all of 2023.
According to Jonathan Pullen, special agent in charge with the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD), “The number of fentanyl pills seized last month shows that the drug cartels operating in Mexico are not slowing down in producing and distributing this deadly poison. Fentanyl pills and powder are readily available, and the cartels targeting Utah are relentless, even during summer vacation.”
In 2023, the DEA’s RMFD, which covers Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, seized a total of 3.4 million fentanyl pills.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It is highly addictive, and even a small amount can be lethal.
The DEA identified two Mexican criminal syndicates, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, as the main culprits responsible for importing fentanyl from China and distributing it in various forms, including counterfeit pills resembling prescription drugs like Xanax, Adderall, or oxycodone, which can have fatal consequences for users.
Fentanyl Pills Growing More Dangerous
Law enforcement officials are currently investigating the seized drugs in Utah, as per the DEA.
The recent seizures come after the DEA warned in May about the increasing deadliness of fentanyl brought into the United States by Mexican cartels, with a higher average purity in fentanyl-containing pills being smuggled across the border.
According to the DEA’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment report, the average fentanyl pill in 2022 contained 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl, with doses ranging from 0.03 mg to 9 mg.
A lethal dose of fentanyl is approximately 2mg, depending on an individual’s opiate tolerance and other factors.
DEA forensic laboratory results showed that about 7 out of 10 counterfeit pills contain a deadly dose of fentanyl, up from 4 out of 10 in 2021, as per the agency’s report.
Additionally, the average purity of fentanyl powder samples was 19.2 percent, marking a 33 percent increase since 2021, according to the DEA’s report.
Fentanyl Declared as the Most Dangerous Drug Threat
“Fentanyl poses the most dangerous drug threat the United States has ever encountered, causing the deaths of nearly 38,000 Americans in the first half of 2023 alone,” the report emphasized.
The DEA report highlighted that fentanyl, along with other synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, is responsible for the majority of fatal drug overdoses and poisonings in the country.
“Synthetic drugs have not only altered the drug landscape in the United States, leading to severe public health and safety consequences, but they have also transformed the criminal landscape, with drug cartels making substantial profits from their sale,” the report concluded.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), around 108,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2022, with 73,838 deaths attributed to synthetic opioids other than methadone, primarily fentanyl.
This report includes contributions from Jack Phillips.
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