DETROIT (WWJ) – Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday announced the results of a major nationwide drug bust, with more than 4 million lethal doses of fentanyl being seized in Michigan and Ohio.
In total, the latest phase of the “One Pill Can Kill” campaign saw DEA agents seize more than 36 million fatal doses of fentanyl in the form of 10 million fake pills and almost 1,000 lbs. of powdered fentanyl across the country between May 23-Sept. 8.
That’s roughly 36 million lethal doses, according to DEA Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene. Four million of those were taken off the streets in Michigan and Ohio, with many right here in Southeast Michigan.
Virtually all of the fentanyl seen in the U.S. is coming from the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels in Mexico.
“If there is a drug hub or a location geographically, any place where there’s a demand, you will find that the cartels are there,” Greene said during a press conference in downtown Detroit Wednesday. “Our mission is to defeat the cartels and try to make our communities as safe as we possibly can.”
Greene says the chemicals to make fentanyl typically come from China and the drugs are made in Mexico and then distributed by the cartels across the U.S.
The DEA launched “One Pill Can Kill” in September 2021 in effort to combat the fake pill threat and educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl pills being disguised and sold as prescription medications, despite these pills not containing any of the actual medications advertised.
“The only safe medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. All other pills are unsafe and potentially deadly,” the DEA said in a press release.
Cartels also push rainbow fentanyl (bright-colored pills/powder) to young folks mostly through social media like Snapchat with emojis to represent drugs, according to Greene. He said since February, they've found rainbow fentanyl in at least 20 states across the country.
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