One million fentanyl pills seized - largest bust of its kind in California, officials say
One million fentanyl pills were seized this month, making for a “record-breaking bust” in California, officials said.
The pills, worth as much as $20 million and meant for retail distribution, were seized from a home in Inglewood on July 5, the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a July 14 news release. The seizure was part of an investigation into a drug trafficking organization possibly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.
“This massive seizure disrupted the flow of dangerous amounts of fentanyl into our streets and probably saved many lives,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner said in a statement.
“This record-breaking bust is the largest seizure of fentanyl pills DEA has made in California,” the news release said.
Last year, officials seized more than 3 million fentanyl pills in Los Angeles, nearly three times more than the previous year, officials said. From January to April 2022, the DEA seized about 1.5 million fentanyl pills, a 64% increase over the same time period the year prior.
Deaths from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, increased more than 56% from 2019 to 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“More than 56,000 people died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids in 2020,” according to the CDC.
In the greater Los Angeles area, “illegal drugs coming from the southwest border are stored in local warehouses, storage units, and residential properties,” officials said. Fentanyl pills are mass-produced in Mexico and made to resemble prescription pills such as oxycodone or stimulants like amphetamines, the DEA said.
The DEA warned that any pills not purchased from a licensed pharmacy are “illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal.”
Investigators are still looking into the drug trafficking organization responsible for the pills, the DEA said.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 4:37 PM with the headline "One million fentanyl pills seized - largest bust of its kind in California, officials say."
