DEA seizes more than 570K fake fentanyl pills in Colorado in 1 week

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) - The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division seized approximately 570,000 fake fentanyl pills in operations over one week earlier this month.

According to the DEA, this one-week total represents nearly 22 percent of all fentanyl pill seizures in Colorado last year.

The agency said special agents and members of multiple state and local law enforcement agencies worked to intercept shipments of 170,000 pills, 300,000 pills, and 100,000 pills in three separate busts over the course of seven days. Investigations into the seized shipments are ongoing.

“The total number of pills seized so far this month proves the Mexican drug cartels are not slowing down production and distribution of this poison as we head into the summer months,” said DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. As seen by the totals, Colorado is on pace to easily break last year’s fake fentanyl pill seizure record of 2.61 million. Keep in mind, DEA lab testing shows seven of every ten pills contain a potentially fatal dose of fentanyl. Seizing another 570,000 pills in Colorado means many lives have likely been saved,” Pullen added.

The DEA urges families to discuss the lethal nature of fentanyl. More than 108,000 Americans died of a drug overdose/poisoning last year – 70% involved fentanyl. Resources can be found at www.DEA.gov/onepill