Drugs threat: US seizes 379m deadly fentanyl

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it intercepted 379m potentially deadly fentanyl doses in 2022 which is more than double what it seized in 2021.

The drug agency said the amount of fentanyl seized this year was enough to kill all 330 million residents of the US.

The DEA said it seized more than 10,000lb (4,500kg) of fentanyl, as well as over 50.6m fentanyl pills that were made to resemble different prescription painkillers.

The agency says most of the fentanyl is trafficked into the US from Mexico.

Most of the drugs were mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico by the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels, which use chemicals sourced in China, the agency said.

“DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels – the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels – that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said.

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The drug is so powerful that a lethal dose is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil.

The DEA described the highly addictive substance, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, as the deadliest drug threat facing the US.

More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, and two-thirds were attributed to fentanyl.

In addition to the fentanyl, the DEA also seized 131,000lb of methamphetamine, more than 4,300lb of heroin, and over 444,000lb of cocaine.

Zainab Sa’id