DEA report shows increase in fentanyl seizures in 2023

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says fentanyl is the leading cause of death for those aged 18-to-45 in the United States.

For calendar year 2023, close to 80 million fentanyl pill and about 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized by agents. It was the most seized in a single year.

"It amounts to more than 386 million deadly dose of fentanyl, enough to kill every American," said the DEA in a release.

The El Paso field division of the DEA reported 1.5 million fentanyl pills and nearly 165 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2023. The El Paso field office covers West Texas and New Mexico.

DEA laboratory tests shows fentanyl pills confiscated in 2023 were deadlier than other years in 7 out of 10 pills tested.

A deadly dose is considered two milligrams of fentanyl.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had predicted record number of drug poisonings for 2023 with an estimated 112,323 lives lost, almost 70 percent of those drug poisoning trace back to fentanyl.