XPost: alt.abortion, talk.politics.guns, alt.politics.immigration
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
From: build-that-wall@cnn.com
In article
wrote:
>
> Serves Democrats right if illegal immigration fucks up their neighborhoods.
>
The San Diego area of California has become the "epicenter" of
fentanyl smuggling, as the federal district sees a spike in
seizures of the deadly drug as well as a massive surge in
overdose deaths.
Officials said in a release Thursday that more deadly fentanyl
is seized at the border in the San Diego and Imperial counties --
which make up the Southern District of California -- than at
any of the nation’s more than 300 ports of entry.
"The Southern District of California, which is home to six
international border crossings, has become the epicenter for
fentanyl trafficking in the United States," U.S Attorney for the
district Randy Grossman said in a video. "The numbers are
staggering."
So far in FY 2022, more than 5,000 lbs have been seized by
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agencies in those two
counties -- amounting to 60% of the 8,425 lbs that have been
seized across the country. Seizures have increased in San Diego
by 323% in just three years and by 272% in Imperial County.
Meanwhile, deaths have also been surging due to the drug --
which can be fatal in small doses and is frequently cut with
other drugs, meaning the user often does not know they are
ingesting fentanyl.
Officials cited statistics that show fentanyl-related overdose
deaths have increased a staggering 2,375% in San Diego County,
from 33 in 2016 to at least 817 in 2021.
The increase in fentanyl has become a major issue at both the
southern border and throughout the U.S. The drug is now
typically produced in Mexico with precursors made in China and
trafficked via the southern border.
More than 10,586 lbs of fentanyl were seized at the southern
border in FY 2021 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), up
significantly from the 4,558 lbs in FY 2020 and 2,633 in FY
2019. Most of the amount seized is caught at ports of entry.
The DEA has previously warned of a "nationwide spike" in mass
fentanyl overdoses and has said the drug is killing Americans at
an "unprecedented rate."
In an interview with Fox News Digital last month, White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Dr.
Rahul Gupta said that of the 108,000 overdose deaths last year,
more than 80,000 were linked with opioids like fentanyl.
Gupta said that the push for profits by transnational
organizations is what is driving the transition to synthetic
opioids.
Fentanyl overdoses impact Americans of all agesVideo
"What's driving this transition by opening this Pandora's Box,
because now it’s basically a matter of chemistry, and you can
create a number of compounds, is ultimately profits," he said.
"The profits of transnational criminal organizations is what is
driving both the shift, but also this innovation."
Officials say that whereas once organizations were adding small
amounts of fentanyl to large amounts of other drugs, more
recently they are moving larger numbers of fentanyl pills and
powder -- including four separate loads between July 13 and 18.
"2016 was the first year San Diego Sector Border Patrol tracked
fentanyl seizures," said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent
Aaron Heitke in a statement. "In that year, our sector seized a
total of 71 pounds. This fiscal year to date, San Diego Sector
has already seized over 600 pounds, an increase of 745 percent,
with two months remaining in the fiscal year."
Heitke said that the agency "will continue to work with our
National and International partners to dismantle these criminal
organizations and keep our borders free of these nefarious
actors."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/san-diego-area-epicenter-
fentanyl-smuggling-spike-deaths-drug-seizures
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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