So far this year, law enforcement has seized more than 55 million fentanyl pills and more than 9,000 pounds of powder containing the deadly drug, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. to dozens of families whose loved ones died after taking fentanyl.
“Violent drug cartels produce and distribute counterfeit pills that look exactly like brand-name drugs. instead, they contain deadly fentanyl,” Garland said, highlighting what he called the dangers posed by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels’ activities in Mexico.
“They are fueling this epidemic,” the attorney general said. “The Department of Justice is attacking every aspect of the cartels.”
Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin.is becoming increasingly present in the drug supply in the United States, with 110,757 Americans killed by fentanyl in 2022 alone, DEA Director Anne Milgram said.
The development coincides with recent efforts by law enforcement officials and the Department of Justice to address the opioid and fentanyl problem facing the United States and to put pressure on the transnational organizations that finance and traffic in the deadly drugs.
Last year, The Drug Enforcement Administration said more than 3,000 people have been charged with trafficking and selling drugs to cartels across the United States.
“We are facing and confronting a threat that is growing. “It has never been more deadly or more dangerous,” Milgram warned. “We’re talking about billions of dollars that are circulating around the world today that benefit from fentanyl.”
In his speech at the Fentanyl Family Summit Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will direct about $345 million in federal funds next year, including money to support mentoring for at-risk youth.
“We know that fentanyl is a nearly invisible poison and that many people who take it have no idea they are taking it,” Garland said. “We know that no one, no one person or family, can defeat this epidemic alone. We need each other”.
*According to CBS News.
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Source: La Opinion
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