Agents on pace to set record this year for amount of fentanyl seized in Utah

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — Agents with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, are on pace to set a record for the amount of fentanyl seized in Utah this year.

With most kids out on summer break, officials say now is the time for parents and guardians to talk to them about the potential dangers, saying “one pill can kill.”

Utah Agents have already seized more than 600,000 fentanyl pills this year and it’s only June.

The deadly drug continues flowing north from labs in Mexico, through the state of Utah and is increasingly finding its way onto our streets.

Agent Dustin Gillespie, who runs the Salt Lake DEA office, says law enforcement officials at all levels are doing everything they can to try and stop the flow of fentanyl flooding into the US.

“It is our focus, it’s our priority and it needs to be and it’s going to be for the foreseeable future,” he explained.

Two large Mexican drug gangs, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, are the primary manufacturers, producing thousands of pounds of fentanyl powder which is then shipped into the U.S., Gillespie said.

“It’s very inexpensive for the cartels to make. So it’s the perfect drug for them to manufacture and distribute to our citizens here in the states,” he explained.

Just over the past month, the US Attorney in Utah has indicted multiple individuals for allegedly possessing, with the intent to distribute, tens of thousands of fentanyl pills and multiple pounds of fentanyl in powder form.

“We target those cartels, distribution networks that are operating here in the valley and across the state of Utah and we’ll continue to do so,” Gillespie said.

Now, with most Utah students out of school for summer break, Gillespie says it’s a perfect time for parents and guardians to remind them to not buy or take anything offered to them at a party.

“Kids are out of school, but fentanyl doesn’t take a summer break so have that conversation with your kids and keep the conversation going,” he said.

Fentanyl poisonings are now reported to be the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

Gillespie says this is a deadly, serious problem and wants to make sure everyone is educated about the dangers.

“It’s a two-prong effort to work those types of investigations,” he reflected, “But also reach out to the communities and help reduce the demand by raising awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.”

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