TEMPE, Ariz. — Federal and state law enforcement officials in Arizona seized more than 4.5 million pills laced with fentanyl and 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, authorities said Thursday.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Tempe Police Department and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office announced the drug bust, which was the culmination of a three-year investigation, KTVK reported.
In a news release, the DEA said that officials also confiscated 66 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 138 kilograms of cocaine, 35 kilograms of heroin, 49 firearms and more than $2 million.
The street value of the narcotics was estimated at more than $13 million, the DEA said.
The DEA said that the fentanyl alone represents more than 30 million potentially lethal doses, CNN reported.
“The sample you see today is staggering,” Tempe interim police Chief Josie Montenegro said, according to KPNX-TV.
“There are few families in our state and across our country that haven’t been touched in some way by the scourge of the opioid epidemic and fentanyl crisis,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement.
According to the DEA, during 2022 Arizona seized more than $22 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills, 500 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 10,000 pounds of methamphetamine, over 1,400 kilograms of cocaine and more than 400 pounds of heroin.
“DEA Arizona is laser-focused on the Sinaloa drug cartel. We will not stop,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz said in a statement. “This investigation is a testament to our strong partnerships which enable us to gain the necessary advantage over these evil criminal networks.”