This is just a part of the loot the drug enforcement administration seized in a campaign that ended Tuesday, including 800,000 counterfeit pills laced with fentaNYL, a drug responsible for killing 64,000 Americans. This year alone, a full 64% of all overdose deaths approximately one person every five minutes is dying of an overdose. Frank Tarantino is the special agent in charge of the D. A s Seattle office. He says the days of users meeting drug dealers in back alleys are fading. Much of that dealing is happening online. What we're seeing today with through social media and through all these various platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Tiktok Facebook, is that these trafficking networks can reach a greater audience. The D. E A has traced the illegal fentanyl drug trade to Wuhan, China, the source of the chemical ingredients. Those chemicals are then shipped to drug cartels in Mexico, which mass produced the fake pills. Then they end up on Seattle streets. Tarantino says the dealers use social media platforms and emojis like this to entice young people to create a secret language their parents and other adults might not understand. It's almost like a secret code, a secret code that Tarantino says parents like he is need to learn to crack. I would encourage and urge every parent to have a really honest conversation with their Children about these dangers and about the risks.
The DEA is raising the alarm about the increased flow of fentanyl across the country
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Updated: 12:56 PM EST Dec 18, 2021
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), there is an overdose death in the United States every five minutes. A majority of those come at the hands of fentanyl, which the DEA says is flowing across the country at unprecedented levels.Fentanyl is most commonly found in the form of fake prescription pills. In 2021 alone, the DEA has seized a staggering 20.4 million fake pills, which is enough fentanyl to provide a lethal dose to every American. These fake prescription pills, officials say, are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions, such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall and others. Most of them, according to the DEA, are being mass-produced by criminal drug networks in Mexico and then transported over the border.In September, the DEA issued its first Public Safety Alert in six years to warn the public about the alarming increase in the availability and lethality of fake prescription pills in the United States. These fake prescription pills often contain deadly doses of fentanyl. DEA has determined that four out of ten DEA-tested fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain at least two milligrams of fentanyl—an amount that is considered to be a lethal dose.The DEA also says that social media is playing a major role in the trafficking of fentanyl. During a recent nationwide crackdown, DEA and law enforcement partners seized more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl and over eight million fake prescription pills. The seizures were directly linked to at least 46 overdoses and 39 overdose deaths. At least 76 of the cases involved drug traffickers using social media applications, including Snapchat, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Thirty-two cases have direct ties to the major Mexican drug networks that are mass-producing and distributing fentanyl.“Mexican criminal drug networks are harnessing the perfect drug trafficking tool: social media applications that are available on every smartphone,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “They are using these platforms to flood our country with fentanyl. The ease with which drug dealers can operate on social media and other popular smartphone apps is fueling our Nation’s unprecedented overdose epidemic.”The DEA has launched the One Pill Can Kill campaign to inform the American public of the dangers of fake prescription pills. The only safe prescription medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional that you get from a licensed pharmacist. All other pills are unsafe and potentially deadly. For more information, visit dea.gov/onepill.“This holiday season,” Milgram said, “every parent, family member and friend should take a few minutes to share a simple message: One Pill Can Kill. Know that DEA remains relentless in our commitment to take down the criminal drug networks that threaten the safety and health of American communities.”
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), there is an overdose death in the United States every five minutes. A majority of those come at the hands of fentanyl, which the DEA says is flowing across the country at unprecedented levels.
Fentanyl is most commonly found in the form of fake prescription pills. In 2021 alone, the DEA has seized a staggering 20.4 million fake pills, which is enough fentanyl to provide a lethal dose to every American.
These fake prescription pills, officials say, are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions, such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall and others. Most of them, according to the DEA, are being mass-produced by criminal drug networks in Mexico and then transported over the border.
In September, the DEA issued its first Public Safety Alert in six years to warn the public about the alarming increase in the availability and lethality of fake prescription pills in the United States. These fake prescription pills often contain deadly doses of fentanyl. DEA has determined that four out of ten DEA-tested fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills contain at least two milligrams of fentanyl—an amount that is considered to be a lethal dose.
The DEA also says that social media is playing a major role in the trafficking of fentanyl.
During a recent nationwide crackdown, DEA and law enforcement partners seized more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl and over eight million fake prescription pills. The seizures were directly linked to at least 46 overdoses and 39 overdose deaths. At least 76 of the cases involved drug traffickers using social media applications, including Snapchat, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Thirty-two cases have direct ties to the major Mexican drug networks that are mass-producing and distributing fentanyl.
“Mexican criminal drug networks are harnessing the perfect drug trafficking tool: social media applications that are available on every smartphone,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “They are using these platforms to flood our country with fentanyl. The ease with which drug dealers can operate on social media and other popular smartphone apps is fueling our Nation’s unprecedented overdose epidemic.”
The DEA has launched the One Pill Can Kill campaign to inform the American public of the dangers of fake prescription pills. The only safe prescription medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional that you get from a licensed pharmacist. All other pills are unsafe and potentially deadly. For more information, visit dea.gov/onepill.
“This holiday season,” Milgram said, “every parent, family member and friend should take a few minutes to share a simple message: One Pill Can Kill. Know that DEA remains relentless in our commitment to take down the criminal drug networks that threaten the safety and health of American communities.”
