DEA says it seized more than 379M deadly fentanyl doses this year

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl in the last year, the agency announced on Tuesday.

The massive haul comes from the more than 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder seized by DEA agents in 2022, according to the agency.

“These seizures – enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American – reflect DEA’s unwavering commitment to protect Americans and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing those responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl across the United States,” Anne Milgram, the head of the DEA, said in a statement.

The synthetic opioid, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, is primarily trafficked into the U.S. by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico, making the cartels the main target of DEA efforts, Milgram added.

The agency warned last month that fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills — pills made to look like prescription medications that actually contain fentanyl and filler — have become increasingly lethal. 

Six in 10 of the fake pills analyzed by the DEA in 2022 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, compared to the 4 in 10 that contained lethal doses the year before.

Synthetic opioids like fentanyl contributed to about two-thirds of the more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during 2021, according to the DEA.