DEA seizes record amounts of fentanyl in 2023, seizures involving Michigan region up 70%
The Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated 1,168 pounds of fentanyl in 2023, 70% more than it seized the previous year, according to a statement from federal authorities.
The seized fentanyl included powder and pills. The Detroit office covers Michigan, Ohio, and northern Kentucky, and it was not immediately clear how much of that fentanyl came from Michigan and how much came from the other states.
Nationally, in 2023, the DEA seized more fentanyl in a single year than ever before — 77 million fentanyl pills and almost 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, the news release said. The DEA added that the seized drugs amounted to more than 386 million deadly doses of fentanyl or enough to kill every American.
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Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, the statement said. "DEA laboratory testing in 2023 showed that 7 out of 10 pills tested contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl," said Orville Greene, special agent in charge of the Detroit office. "This is an increase from 4 out of 10 pills in 2021 and 6 out of 10 pills in 2022."
More than 100,000 people in the U.S. die from drug overdoses every year. The majority of those deaths involve illicit fentanyl.
Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: DEA seizes more fentanyl than ever in 2023
