(5MinNewsBreak.com) – Democrat-run Colorado is currently witnessing unprecedented levels of fentanyl confiscations, a trend the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) attributes to the expansion of Mexican drug cartels into previously unexploited regions and their increased distribution of the substance.
DEA spokesperson Dave Olesky, who also holds the position of Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Rocky Mountain Field Division, noted that his team, which operates across Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, has observed heightened cartel activity during their operations.
Olesky further highlighted the infiltration of drugs typically linked to cartels in eastern Washington into Montana.
“We have also seen local street gangs that might be more common in Detroit and the East Coast actually coming into the state of Montana to compete for that territory because the price per pill is so much higher up there,” Olesky said.
Last year, the Rocky Mountain Field Division achieved a new high in their fentanyl seizure efforts, confiscating over 2.6 million pills in Colorado in 2023. The current year is poised to exceed these figures.
“Quantities of fentanyl that we are seeing now in the Denver area, they used to be, two years ago, typically what you might see in one of the distribution cities down in Phoenix, Los Angeles. But nowadays, those cities are seeing exponential increases in terms of the number of and quantities of fentanyl being seized,” Olesky remarked.
He noted that seizures of 100,000 units are “sadly becoming the norm” in the Denver metropolitan area.
The DEA has disclosed that approximately 70% of illegal pills currently contain lethal doses of fentanyl. Given the low production cost and high addictive potential of these synthetic pills, both supply and demand remain robust.
Olesky voiced concerns about the disregard for consumer safety among those distributing the pills, noting their primary interest is profit. He also mentioned ongoing investigations into criminal organizations in China that assist cartels in manufacturing fentanyl economically.
“The Mexican drug trafficking organizations are able to produce this as simply as whether it’s a super lab or a garage in Mexico,” said Olesky.
Sheriff Jason Mikesell of Teller County, Colorado, suggested that the migrant crisis at the southern U.S. border is exacerbating the fentanyl problem in Colorado, despite efforts by the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to curb its entry.
“Why do we see such a huge rise in Colorado with fentanyl? We are 10 hours from El Paso. They are coming here as a place that’s supposedly going to house them,” Mikesell explained.
Olesky, however, considers the issue to have many sides.
“Certainly there is a border piece to this, but then there’s also got to be the outreach piece, the education piece,” Olesky asserted.
He also stressed the importance of public discourse on fentanyl, noting that disguising pills in vibrant colors to attract children increases the need for awareness and education.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdoses, predominantly driven by fentanyl, are the leading cause of death among adults aged 18 to 45.
From 2000 to 2022, the overdose death rate surged from 8.2 per 100,000 people to 32.6 per 100,000.
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