Utah set to seize a million fentanyl pills in 2024
Oct 3, 2024, 6:00 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is on track to seize a million fentanyl pills trafficked into the state by the end of 2024.
In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized just over 650,000 pills in Utah. A million almost doubles those seizures, which at the time were the highest to date in the state.
Dustin Gillespie, Assistant Special Agent in charge of the DEA‘s Salt Lake City District Office, said the rise in seizures comes down to two main reasons.
First, they are focusing their investigation on fentanyl trafficking. Second, more pills are coming in now than ever before.
Gillespie said the cartels can make each pill for about 3 cents in Mexico. After trafficking them to Utah through major ports of entry, they can sell them for up to $6 apiece.
“So for a $3,000 investment, a week later you can turn that $3,000 into more than half a million,” Gillespie said. “I think by the end of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we [have] over a million pills seized by DEA.”
Hugo Rikard-Bell is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. He primarily reports on immigration, organized crime and human trafficking. Follow him on X.
Related:
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- Former Utahn sentenced for disguising fentanyl as oxycodone and selling it
- DEA warns fentanyl most deadly drug in U.S. and Utah history
