WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), James Risch (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) sent a letter to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram requesting information on the action the DEA’s is taking to dismantle drug networks, counter drug cartels, and halt the illicit narcotics from flooding into our communities.
“We write to express our concern regarding the alarming rate of illicit drugs flooding our communities,” wrote the senators. “Illicit drugs like counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl are not only getting into the hands of adults, but also to the most vulnerable members in our communities, our children. We are writing to request information detailing what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is doing to stop drug networks and cartels from overflowing our communities with illicit narcotics.”
“Our nation is facing an unprecedented opioid crisis that is devasting our communities and impacting families from all demographics,” the senators continued. “On February 9, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the United States had over 100,000 fentanyl related deaths in a 12-month period. The overdoses are fueled from multiple fronts including the porous southern border, drug networks using social media to sell illicit narcotics, and China’s supply of the bulk of the precursor chemicals to drug cartels for fentanyl production.”
The senators concluded, “Evidence of the smuggling of illicit narcotics by drug trafficking organizations can be seen across the country. In North Carolina, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office and Rockingham County Sheriff’s Investigators conducted a joint operation which led to the seizure of enough fentanyl to kill around 19,000 people. On July 18, 2022, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested a drug smuggler near Campos, California who was in possession of approximately 250lbs of fentanyl laced pills. The fentanyl laced pills had an estimated street value of $3.6 million dollars and a potency to kill over 56 million people.”
Read full letter here.
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