TEMPE, Ariz. — Millions of pills were on display Thursday afternoon during a news conference with the Tempe Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration of Arizona after a recent drug seizure in the Valley.
The DEA said more than 150 people were arrested in relation to the multi-agency effort to target the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, and the following was seized in the process:
- 4.5 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills
- 66 kilograms of fentanyl powder
- 138 kilograms of cocaine
- 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine
- 35 kilograms of heroin
- 49 firearms
- $2 million in cash
This investigation was part of the DEA’s work in "defeating the criminal drug cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG), who continue to drive addiction and drug poisonings in communities nationwide, threatening the safety and health of Americans," the DEA said in a news release.
The DEA said the Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for nearly all deadly narcotics flooding into Arizona.
>> VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Millones de píldoras de fentanilo confiscadas, el Cártel de Sinaloa es el blanco de agencias del orden de Arizona
State Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office was part of the investigation, spoke about the impacts of drugs on families in Arizona.
“There are few families in our state and across our country that haven't been touched in some way by the scourge of the opioid epidemic and fentanyl crisis," Mayes said.
The DEA said fentanyl is mass-produced in secret laboratories in Mexico with chemicals sourced largely by China, and the criminal cartels are making fake pills to look like prescription drugs such as Oxycontin, Hydrocodone, Percocet, Xanax, and Adderall.
"The sample you see today is staggering," said Tempe interim Police Chief Josie Montenegro.
Last year the DEA in Arizona seized over $22 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills, 500 kilograms of fentanyl powder, over 10,000 pounds of methamphetamine, over 1400 kilograms of cocaine and over 400 pounds of heroin.
More information for parents and families on the dangers of fentanyl and fake pills can be found on DEA’s website at One Pill Can Kill (dea.gov).
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