Fentanyl Becomes First Drug in History to Overtake Heroin Being Seized at U.S Border
Heroin seized at the border decreased from 5,763 pounds in 2020,
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More of the deadly and highly addictive drug fentanyl is being intercepted by federal law enforcement at the country’s borders and it has now overtaken heroin.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data revealed 11,201 pounds of fentanyl was seized in fiscal year 2021, compared to 5,400 pounds of heroin.
Other drugs seized, incldued:
- 319,447 pounds of marijuana
- 190,861 pounds of methamphetamine
- 97,638 pounds of cocaine
- 10,848 pounds of ketamine
2,158 pounds of fentanyl has been seized in fiscal year 2022 to date, compared to 277.
Heroin seized at the border decreased from 5,763 pounds in 2020, while fentanyl rose from 4,791 pounds in 2020.
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“Not only were fentanyl seizures at the highest level ever recorded, but fentanyl overdoses within the United States also hit new highs, indicating the success that transnational criminal organizations had in pushing their deadly products to the public,” reported The Washington Examiner.
In December, a DEA investigation identified a “direct link between fentanyl-related overdose deaths and criminal drug networks in Mexico.”
“Mexican criminal drug networks are harnessing the perfect drug trafficking tool: social media applications that are available on every smartphone,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said.
“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.”
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's data signals that fentanyl-related deaths in the US have almost doubled since 2019.
The DC data also revealed that opioid is now the leading killer of American adults ages 18-45
“Between 2020 and 2021, nearly 79,000 people between 18 and 45 years old — 37,208 in 2020 and 41,587 in 2021 — died of fentanyl overdoses, the data analysis from opioid awareness organization Families Against Fentanyl shows," Fox News reported.
“This is a national emergency. America’s young adults — thousands of unsuspecting Americans — are being poisoned,” James Rauh, founder of Families Against Fentanyl, told Fox News.
“It is widely known that illicit fentanyl is driving the massive spike in drug-related deaths.
"A new approach to this catastrophe is needed.”
What is even more bizarre is Joe Biden’s administration proposed earlier this year to eliminate quantity-based penalties for drug dealers trafficking in fentanyl-related substances.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the surge in overdoes was driven by a proliferation of fentanyl.
The epidemic of overdoses was amplified by the pandemic, which was brought on by social isolation and job losses, addiction experts and treatment providers said.
The rise in fentanyl-related deaths began soaring in March 2020.
