CNN
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Authorities in New York seized record-breaking amounts of fentanyl powder and fake prescription pills laced with the potent opioid in 2022, according to two drug enforcement agencies.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division seized 1.9 million fentanyl-laced pills and 1,958 pounds of fentanyl across the state last year, marking a 152% increase from 2021, the agency said in a joint release with New York City’s Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.
“To put that into perspective, throughout 2022, we seized enough deadly doses of fentanyl in New York for more than three times the population of New York State,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said in the release.
The announcement comes as the US is struggling with a decades-long opioid epidemic in which fentanyl has become the most commonly used drug involved in overdoses.
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