Attorney General Merrick Garland disclosed Tuesday at the DEA Family Summit that law enforcement agencies have seized over 55 million fentanyl pills and 9,000+ pounds of fentanyl powder this year.
"Violent drug cartels are manufacturing and moving fake pills designed to look exactly like brand name drugs, and instead, they contain deadly fentanyl," Garland said, highlighting what he said are the dangers posed by the work of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico, reported CBS News.
"They are fueling this epidemic," he said, "The justice department is attacking every aspect of the cartels' operations."
Garland and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram convened with around 150 individuals impacted by the escalating fentanyl crisis at the DEA headquarters near Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the second annual Family Summit on Fentanyl.
Milgram delivered a sad revelation, highlighting the severity of the crisis as she disclosed that in 2022, 110,757 Americans tragically lost their lives due to fentanyl. She also emphasized a troubling trajectory, indicating that 2023 is currently poised to record the highest-ever seizures of fentanyl.
Fentanyl, an extraordinarily potent opioid approximately 50 times more potent than heroin, has increased within the U.S. drug supply, leading to a devastating surge in overdose fatalities among individuals either directly consuming or unknowingly using substances contaminated with this lethal compound.
"We are facing and confronting a threat that is ever-growing. It has never been more deadly or dangerous," Milgram warned. "We are talking about billions of dollars that are crossing the globe today that profit from fentanyl."
Over the last year, the DEA administrator disclosed that over 3,000 individuals were charged with trafficking drugs for cartels within the United States. The DEA currently has 600 active investigations into fentanyl overdose deaths, which Milgram acknowledged on Tuesday as inadequate but is steadily increasing.
The U.S. secured the extradition of Ovidio Guzmán López, son of notorious drug trafficker and former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, earlier this month, according to CBS News.
In April, López and other sons of El Chapo, along with nearly two dozen members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, faced charges for allegedly masterminding a transnational fentanyl trafficking operation into the United States.
According to investigators, these defendants, operating within the "Chapitos" network, facilitated the acquisition of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China, manufactured the lethal substance in Mexico, and smuggled it into the U.S. for street-level distribution.
For the first time, federal investigators charged four Chinese nationals in April with supplying precursor chemicals to Mexican cartels for fentanyl production.
To combat fentanyl, Garland has also allocated $345M in education, treatment, and prevention grants.
"No one, especially no young person, should have to face this threat alone," the attorney general said.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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