The DEA has found enough fentanyl that can kill all Americans
As the nation struggles with an epidemic of drug overdose deaths, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Tuesday that it has confiscated more than 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl this year.
The DEA reported that they had found and confiscated over 50,6 million fentanyl-laced pills and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder.
In a statement released on Friday, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said that the “These seizures – enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American – reflect the DEA’s unwavering commitment to protect Americans and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing those responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl across the United States,”
Fentanyl is more commonly laced with recreational narcotics like cocaine powder because of its strength and its ease of transit across international borders. Pills that mimic popular prescription medicines like Xanax, Percocet, and OxyContin are a common problem.
According to a report published earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl was a major contributor to the dramatic increase in opioid overdose deaths among teenagers during the pandemic.
Researchers showed that the number of deaths attributable to opioid overdoses among teenagers aged 14 to 18 rose by 94% between 2019 and 2020, and by another 20% between 2020 and 2021.
Overdose deaths caused by fentanyl increased 350% from 2019 to 2020, according to the research of fatalities among adolescents. Seventy-seven percent of teen overdose deaths in 2021 were related to fentanyl.
The drug seizures revealed on Tuesday are only a small fraction of the total amount of lethal illegal substances entering the United States. In October of last year, 1,825.72 pounds of fentanyl were confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at southern border ports of entry, putting authorities on course to surpass the 11,904 pounds seized all of the previous year.
According to the DEA, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico are the principal suppliers of fentanyl trafficking into the United States. The agency’s “highest operational goal,” according to Administrator Milgram, is to bring down the two cartels.
The DEA claims that criminal organisations manufacture fentanyl in secret facilities using ingredients imported from China and then export the finished product in the form of pills and powder to the United States.
