Utah governor’s task force touts progress in fight against illegal fentanyl
Jul 14, 2025, 5:00 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is making huge gains in its fight against fentanyl. Overdose deaths from the dangerous drug are down, and drug busts to find it are up.
This is part of an update Monday from Gov. Spencer Cox’s Fentanyl Task Force. They’re detailing the amount of fentanyl coming to Utah from foreign drug cartels, but also the record drug busts they’re making to seize it.
The task force reported bags upon bags of illegal fentanyl pills being smuggled into Utah. Images of those bags represent what the combined efforts of state and local police are taking off the street.
By the numbers, just in 2024, the State Bureau of Investigation seized more than 873,365 pills, including the second highest bust in their history.
State troopers grabbed an additional 120,729 pills in 2024, and a total of seven local police task forces from Ogden to St. George seized a record 4.7 million pills, on track to do even more this year.
“Right now, what we’re seeing is fentanyl, the loads we’re getting on the roads are destined for Utah,” said Commissioner Beau Mason with the Utah Department of Public Safety.
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The task force shared the progress they’ve made against the drug since the task force started last year.
“The Utah-supported task forces are on pace in 2025 to exceed last year’s record-breaking amount of fentanyl seized,” said Keith Weis, Rocky Mountain HIDTA Executive Director.
It’s not just drugs off the street. Utah health data in 2024 shows a 1.5% drop in overdose deaths from fentanyl.
“As we look at preliminary data for the first quarter of 2025, we’re excited to see that some of that data our numbers are coming down again,” said Nathan Checketts, Utah Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Director.
The task force is also touting a public online dashboard showing fentanyl seizures across the state, how a new state law is helping prosecute fentanyl dealers, and an education campaign teaching Utahns about the dangers of fentanyl soon to come.
“The message is getting out, if you traffic fentanyl in Utah you will face the highest possible consequences,” said Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Weber County.
The task force also addressed the emergence of another powerful drug mixed with the fentanyl supply, called carfentanil, typically used to sedate large elephants, and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. They’re now finding it here in Utah, too.
Utah’s new law targets fentanyl traffickers with severe penalties
