DOJ Announces DEA’s Historic Seizure of Over 1.8 million Fentanyl-Laced Counterfeit Pills
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on September, 30, 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) historic seizure of more than 1.8 million fentanyl-laced pills, an amount that could potentially kill more than 700,000 individuals.
Historically, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, boosted the potency of various narcotics, including natural opioids like morphine or codeine, to produce a sedative state. Fentanyl’s modern application substitutes prescription oxycodone pills, indiscriminately appearing identical, with purchasers none the wiser of the switch. This enterprise alone has led to a striking escalation in overdose deaths as investigations revealed four out of 10 fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills are potentially lethal.
“The pervasiveness of these illicit drugs, and the fatal overdoses that too often result, is a problem that cuts across America from small towns to big cities and everything in between,” Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco indicated, “Opioids were responsible for nearly three-quarters of the more than 93,000 fatal drug overdoses in the United States in 2020.”
The DEA launched a national law enforcement effort on August 3, 2021, to address the surge in overdose deaths caused by fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills as access and deadliness intensified. Nearly 90 DEA offices, along with state and local partners, participated in the two-month operation investigating criminal drug networks mass-producing counterfeit pills.
“Counterfeit pills that contain these dangerous and extremely addictive drugs are more lethal and more accessible than ever before,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a statement, “Today, we are alerting the public to this danger so that people have the information they need to protect themselves and their children.”
On September 27, 2021, the DEA released a public safety alert, notifying Americans of the opioid crisis exploitation and prescription drug misuse that contribute to false marketing of the counterfeit pills as legitimate alternatives. The issuance is a part of a much larger campaign to educate the public on counterfeit pills.
These seizures add to nearly 9.5 million counterfeit pills seized by the DEA in 2021 – more than 2020 and 2019’s confiscations combined.
In addition to the record number of confiscated pills, the DEA seized 158 weapons linked to major crimes, 8,843 pounds of methamphetamine and 1,440 pounds of cocaine, with 810 individuals arrested nationwide.