Fentanyl Frenzy: Record Seizures and Rising Death Toll Highlight a Crisis at the Border
On July 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills—collectively weighing over 1,000 pounds—in the largest fentanyl seizure in the agency’s history. The operation took place at the Port of Lukeville in Arizona and marks the latest in a series of significant fentanyl seizures under the current administration. While these potent and deadly drugs were successfully intercepted, it raises a sobering question: How many have slipped past CBP and into American communities, causing untold death and devastation?
According to a CBP news release, this record-breaking seizure occurred when a pick-up truck, hauling a trailer with an SUV on top, drove to the port of entry (POE). CBP officers noticed irregularities in the trailer’s frame, prompting a more intensive investigation. Less than two weeks later, on July 12, officers at the same POE discovered 39 packages in another trailer, leading to the seizure of approximately 270 pounds of methamphetamine and five pounds of cocaine. The combined street value of these drug seizures is estimated to be over $12.6 million.
State-led initiatives like Operation Plaza Strike, targeting cartel flows, and Operation Apollo-Arizona, an intelligence-driven counter-fentanyl strategy, have helped to mitigate the impact of narcotics within the States. However, these efforts fall short of curtailing the influence of Chinese-backed cartels.
The U.S. isn’t producing the vast majority of fentanyl; it’s being brought across the border, either smuggled or brought in through POEs. China is the primary source of the chemicals and precursors used in synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl. These substances are exported to Mexico, where cartel labs produce the fentanyl that is then smuggled into the United States. Once inside, these drugs are distributed across the country, poisoning our communities and effectively turning every state into a border state due to the impact of the CCP-Cartel drug alliance.
The amount of fentanyl seized at U.S. borders has increased by more than 860 percent between fiscal years (FY) 2019 and 2023. In FY19, only 5,245 pounds of fentanyl were seized. By FY23, that number had skyrocketed to 27,000 pounds. So far in FY24, with two months remaining, 18,000 pounds of fentanyl have already been intercepted.
Total CBP Fentanyl Seizures: FY 2021-2024, by Month
In June, FAIR reported on new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), showing that more than 107,500 people in the United States died from drug overdoses in 2023. Although this represents a 3 percent decrease in the overdose rate from 2022, it marks the third consecutive year in which overdose deaths have exceeded six figures. Nearly 70 percent of those deaths—74,702 lives lost—were directly attributed to fentanyl ingestion.
The fentanyl crisis is preventable. All it takes is determination and a willingness to reconsider the open-border policies that are fueling mass illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border and tying up manpower and resources that should be devoted to stopping the flow of lethal narcotics. When will it stop? Perhaps only when the Biden-Harris administration finds the resolve to make it happen. Until then, countless lives will continue to be shattered, families torn apart, and communities devastated by an epidemic that could have been averted. It’s time for real leadership and decisive action—before more lives are lost to this preventable tragedy.