Jonathan Pullen, Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), stated that cartels have not ceased the production and distribution of fentanyl despite recent drug seizures. Pullen made this statement in a DEA press release on July 1.
"The number of fentanyl pills seized just last month proves the drug cartels primarily operating in Mexico are not slowing down production and distribution of this deadly poison," said Pullen, Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge, according to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "Fentanyl pills and powder are out there, and the cartels targeting Utah do not care if you and the family are in summer vacation mode."
According to the DEA press release, more than 170,000 fentanyl pills were seized in Utah during June. This number represents 25% of all fentanyl seizures in Utah for the year 2023; the DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division seized a total of 3.4 million fentanyl pills.
The DEA's National Drug Threat Assessment reports that fentanyl is the deadliest drug in American history, claiming the lives of 38,000 Americans in the "first six months of 2023 alone."
Seven out of every ten lab-tested fentanyl pills contain a potentially lethal dose of the drug in a single pill, according to the DEA. Distributed counterfeit pills can contain up to twice the lethal dose.
Insight Crime reports that 4.5 tons of pure fentanyl and 434 tons of methamphetamine are produced annually in Mexico "in order to meet the demand of the US consumption market." The chemical components cost between $9 million and $22.5 million for fentanyl and between $83.3 million and $126.5 million for methamphetamine.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was founded in 1973 to ensure proper implementation of US laws regarding controlled substances and to bring entities involved in production, distribution, or trafficking of such substances to either criminal or civil justice, according to its website. The DEA focuses on both domestic and international markets. The Special Agent in Charge of the Rocky Mountain Field Division is Jonathan Pullen.
