Reported by Luke Gentile, Washington Examiner

Seizures of fentanyl in Colorado are on the rise as cartels expand their territory and spread into new areas, Drug Enforcement Administrationofficials said.

In 2023, the Rocky Mountain Field Division of the DEA saw a new record reached in the total amount of fentanyl seized after agents captured over 2.6 million pills in Colorado, according to a report citing Dave Olesky, acting special agent in charge of the Rocky Mountain Field Division and DEA spokesman.

That record is likely to break in 2024, he added.

“Quantities of fentanyl that we are seeing now in the Denver area, they used to be, two years ago, typically what you might see in one of the distribution cities down in Phoenix, Los Angeles. But nowadays, those cities are seeing exponential increases in terms of the number of and quantities of fentanyl being seized,” Olesky said.

Capturing 100,000-quantity seizures is now “sadly becoming the norm” in the Denver area, according to Olesky.

This new “norm” arrives as Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the city council continue to push a $41 million budget reduction policy that would slash police and fire department funding to cover the costs of the migrant crisis.

Along with Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Field Division is seeing more signs of cartel crime in Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, the report noted.

Read full report: https://www.coloradopolitics.com/colorado-in-dc/colorado-fentanyl-seizures-on-the-rise-as-cartels-spread/article_793100f2-9d49-5526-b056-c66772b27327.html