The DEA seized a record-breaking 386 million fatal doses of fentanyl across the US last year — enough to kill every American.
Nearly 10% of the drugs seized were seized in New York alone, and came in the form of pills and powders marketed as other drugs, but hiding powerful and lethal doses of fentanyl inside, the New York division of the federal agency announced Thursday.
“Deception masks the reality when it comes to deadly drugs on city streets today,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino.
“The vast majority of exhibits sent to the DEA’s New York City-based Northeast Regional Laboratory are fentanyl; Laboratory analysis also revealed that counterfeit prescription pills are only prescription drugs.”
The record-breaking haul totaled nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder and more than 77 million potent pills — a 119% increase in fentanyl pill seizures over the previous year.
Just two milligrams of the dangerously potent drug is enough to kill — about the amount that would fit on the tip of a pencil.
About 4.2 million pills and 1,100 pounds of the powder were disguised as other drugs, in some cases prescription drugs, totaling 37 million disguised lethal doses, the DEA said.
Another worrisome trend related to synthetic opioids hit new highs a year earlier.
A record number of high school teenagers across the US were killed by the drug in 2022, mainly by fentanyl poisoning from fake pills. Fentanyl overdose is also the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
New York DEA seizes 386 million lethal doses of fentanyl by 2023. DEA
Most of the seized drugs were seized in a large drug ring in New York City.
One of the largest seizures in DEA history occurred in October when investigators found more than 50 pounds of fentanyl powder and 200,000 pills stored inside a Bronx plant.
A month later, a daycare center was caught keeping a secret drug factory behind a children’s playroom after a 1-year-old boy was killed by inhaling the deadly drug.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. DEA Nearly 10% of the drugs seized this year came in pill and powder form marketed as other drugs. DEA
Earlier that year, a wily drug smuggler from a Mexican cartel was caught driving a Ford Expedition near Yankee Stadium with 300,000 fentanyl-laced pills stashed in the gas tank.
Video of the robbery shows officers repeatedly reaching into the tank and pulling out a seemingly endless stream of packaged drugs covered in a layer of oil.
Record-breaking fentanyl seizures are likely to be a dark indicator of the highest number of drug overdose deaths nationwide, as predicted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A wily drug smuggler from a Mexican cartel was caught driving a Ford Expedition near Yankee Stadium with 300,000 fentanyl-laced pills stashed in the gas tank. DEA
More than 112,300 Americans were killed by drug poisoning between June 2022 and June 2023, nearly 70% of which were caused by fentanyl.
An estimated 6,000 people in New York will die from drug poisoning in 2023, about half of which will occur in New York City.
The New York DEA division also saw a 270% increase in methamphetamine seizures, a 307% increase in methamphetamine pill seizures and a 55% increase in cocaine seizures.
Other cities across the country, including Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri, have also reported record-breaking fentanyl seizures in 2023.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
