Samuel Case, FISM News
Border patrol intercepted a record number of smuggled fentanyl in 2021, marking the first time in American history that the opioid out-trafficked heroin.
“The 11,200 pounds of fentanyl seized by CBP at international mail inspection facilities, sea, land, and air ports of entry, and by smugglers trying to sneak it across between the ports of entry was double last year’s fentanyl seizures. That same year [2021], 5,400 pounds of heroin were seized,” the Washington Examiner reports.
The shocking surge in smuggled fentanyl comes as 2021 also saw overdoses from the drug break deadly records. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes these overdose deaths can be attributed to increased drug running along the U.S. Mexico border along with drug networks increasing their activity on social media:
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed a direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico. These groups are harnessing social media platforms to bring drugs laced with fentanyl and fake prescription pills into American homes with one click on a smartphone.
The DEA reports that within the past year 20.4 million fake prescription pills, which is enough to kill every American, were seized by law enforcement. Additionally, 4 out of 10 pills tested by the DEA contained a deadly dose of fentanyl, according to the Examiner.
These fake pills are being produced en-masse by Mexican drug networks using chemical ingredients largely sourced from China, specifically from labs in Wuhan. The pills are made to mimic brand name prescription drugs such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, and Xanax – meaning many drug users have unknowingly purchased pills laced with fentanyl, believing them to be prescription brands.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram warned that since fentanyl is synthetic “an unlimited amount of these drugs that can be made.”
FISM News reported last month that fentanyl poisoning has become the leading cause of death among 18–45 year-olds in the past two years, showing that for the period ending in April 2021 the drug accounted for over 64,000 deaths. The CDC found over 100,000 Americans overdosed in the time period leading up to April.