Seizures of the deadly drug fentanyl jumped more than 200% in July, according to government figures published Monday -- amid a continuing border crisis and widespread concern over overdose deaths.
More than 2,100lbs of the drug, which can be fatal in small doses, were seized in July. That’s the highest amount seized in the last four fiscal years. The largest seizure before July was in April, when 1,300lbs were seized. The 2,100lbs seized in July is up 202% from the 640 lbs seized in June and further eclipses the 780lbs seized in July last year.
The synthetic opioid is typically used for treating severe pain and is 50-100 times more potent than morphine. Illicit fentanyl is now primarily made in Mexico from precursors manufactured in China and then trafficked across the southern land border.
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It is frequently cut with different drugs, meaning that users may often be unaware that they are consuming the potent substance. While the increased seizures reveal that more of the drug is being caught by border officials -- especially at ports of entry -- it has raised fears that, like illegal migrants, more may also be getting past as border traffic increases.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration has previously cautioned of a "nationwide spike" in mass fentanyl overdoses and has announced the drug is killing Americans at an "unprecedented rate."
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Of the more than 108,000 overdose deaths last year, over 80,000 were linked with fentanyl.
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"We are seeing a transition with having the most dynamic supply environment this country's ever seen," Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "And what that means is we're seeing a shift from plant-based or organic compounds, primarily cocaine and heroin, to synthetic compounds -- compounds that you don't need large fields and crops to produce, you don't need a lot of time to produce. You can produce them in small clandestine labs…and these compounds are getting more lethal in smaller amounts."
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Last week, DOJ officials announced that the San Diego area of California -- which includes six international border crossings -- has become the "epicenter" of fentanyl smuggling.
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Thus far in FY 2022, more than 5,000 lbs have been seized by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies in those two counties -- amounting to 60% of the 8,425 lbs that have been seized across the nation. Seizures have increased in San Diego by 323% in only three years and by 272% in Imperial County.
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