Overview
- The DEA said the October operation uncovered 628,000 pills, most from a single stash site, in a case announced Wednesday by the Los Angeles Field Division.
- One suspected trafficker was arrested during the seizure, and authorities did not release the individual’s identity or the exact location.
- Carfentanil is described by the DEA as about 100 times stronger than fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine, with as little as 0.02 milligrams potentially lethal.
- The drug has been increasingly found in pressed pills that resemble prescription medications, and the DEA reports detections in 37 states with 2024 seizures largely in tablet form.
- The CDC reports a sharp rise in carfentanil-involved deaths, increasing roughly sevenfold from January–June 2023 to the same period in 2024.