DEA seizes massive amounts of fentanyl locally & nationwide

(CBS DETROIT) - "We seized approximately 10 million pills and almost a thousand pounds of powdered fentanyl nationwide," said Orville Greene, special agent in charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Greene highlighted an awareness program known as the "One Pill Can Kill" campaign during a news conference on Wednesday in Downtown Detroit. 

"This is equivalent to 36 million deadly doses," Greene said. 

Phase 3 of the campaign began on May 23 and ended on Sept. 8. During that time, federal agents seized massive amounts of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and revealed the drug was the DEA's focus. 

Over the four-month period, Greene said the agency seized more than 4 million pills in Michigan and Ohio alone. 

"For us the most urgent drug threat to our communities is fentanyl," Greene added. 

The DEA said drug cartels from Mexico are trafficking fentanyl in many different forms including candy-colored pills, powder and in fake pills, which are prescription drugs disguised as something else, but laced with fentanyl. 

Recently, Special Agent Greene said drug dealers are reaching out to young kids on social media to give them access to drugs. 

"Snapchat is what we're seeing mostly, and again because of the anonymity, the end-to-end encryption and because those messages go away after a certain period of time," Green said. 

The DEA also released a chart of commonly used emojis that people use on social media to buy and sell drugs but said most of the drugs people are getting are not what they think and are often laced with fentanyl. 

Right now, Greene is urging parents to talk to their kids and warn them of the dangers of taking prescription drugs not prescribed by a doctor. 

"Families having conversations about fake pills is extremely important," Greene said.