Approximately 1 million fentanyl-laced pills seized in drug bust near Los Angeles
Approximately one million pills laced with fentanyl were seized in a bust near Los Angeles earlier this month, according to federal authorities. It marks the biggest seizure of fentanyl pills in California history, authorities said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration reported Thursday that the raid occurred on July 5 at a home in Inglewood, a city just south of Los Angeles. The pills have an estimated street value of between $15 and $20 million, officials said.
The pills were "intended for retail distribution," the DEA said.
This comes after what may have been the largest fentanyl seizure in history last week at a warehouse in Culiacan, Mexico, where authorities said they found a half-ton of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $230 million.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021, with synthetic opioids accounting for about 71,000 of those.
Experts say fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, can be 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine.
"This massive seizure disrupted the flow of dangerous amounts of fentanyl into our streets and probably saved many lives," DEA Special Agent in Charge Bill Bodner said in a statement Thursday. "The deceptive marketing coupled with the ease of accessibility makes these small and seemingly innocuous pills a significant threat to the health and safety of all our communities. A staggering number of teens and young adults are unaware that they are ingesting fentanyl in these fake pills and are being poisoned."