(Washington Insider Magazine) – The agency seized nearly 2,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, the equivalent of 72 million lethal doses, which in percentage terms was an increase of 152% over the previous year.
The wave of deaths due to the use of fentanyl seems endless, mainly due to the rivers of this drug that circulate in the streets. As an example, authorities seized record amounts of fentanyl prescription pills and powder in New York state in 2022.
Such a situation led to more than 2,300 fatal overdoses in New York City alone, the New York City Drug Enforcement Administration and the New York City Office of the Special Prosecutor for Narcotics said Thursday.
Detail About Fentanyl Drug
Fentanyl is the most dangerous drug to ever hit the streets and the DEA’s New York Division, which covers the entire state, seized 1.9 million fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl in 2022, an increase of 152% over to the previous year.
“To put that in perspective, throughout 2022 we seized enough lethal doses of fentanyl in New York for more than three times the population of New York State,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino.
In 2022, cases handled by the New York City Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor resulted in the seizure of nearly 1 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, an increase of more than 425% over 2021.
“Thousands of New Yorkers are mourning the precious lives that deadly fentanyl claimed last year,” special prosecutor for narcotics Bridget G. Brennan said in a statement. “Fentanyl saturates New York City’s supply of illegal drugs and is a factor in approximately 80% of overdose deaths.”
Mexican drug cartels often slip fentanyl into counterfeit pills designed to resemble blue oxycodone pills, or in various colors, often referred to as rainbow fentanyl.
The DEA issued a warning in August about the multicolored pills, saying they were being used to target children and youth.
This article is authored by La Opinion.
