DEA says it seized greater than 379M lethal fentanyl doses this yr

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized greater than 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl within the final yr, the company introduced on Tuesday.

The huge haul comes from the greater than 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, pretend prescription tablets and greater than 10,000 kilos of fentanyl powder seized by DEA brokers in 2022, in line with the company.

“These seizures – sufficient lethal doses of fentanyl to kill each American – mirror DEA’s unwavering dedication to guard People and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing these liable for the trafficking of fentanyl throughout the USA,” Anne Milgram, the top of the DEA, stated in a press release.

The artificial opioid, which is 50 instances stronger than heroin, is primarily trafficked into the U.S. by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico, making the cartels the principle goal of DEA efforts, Milgram added.

The company warned final month that fentanyl-laced, pretend prescription tablets — tablets made to appear like prescription medicines that really include fentanyl and filler — have turn into more and more deadly. 

Six in 10 of the pretend tablets analyzed by the DEA in 2022 contained a doubtlessly deadly dose of fentanyl, in comparison with the 4 in 10 that contained deadly doses the yr earlier than.

Artificial opioids like fentanyl contributed to about two-thirds of the greater than 100,000 drug overdose deaths within the U.S. throughout 2021, in line with the DEA.