DEA Seizes Nearly 3.2 Million Fentanyl Pills Across 4 States

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division has seized almost 3.2 million fentanyl pills since the beginning of the year from four states.

The Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) comprises Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. Out of the nearly 3.2 million fentanyl pills, over 2.55 million were seized in Colorado alone, with more than 613,000 from Utah, the DEA said in a July 20 statement. One in every six fentanyl pills confiscated in the country this year has been seized in the RMFD.

In addition, more than 202 pounds of fentanyl powder has been seized since Jan. 1, with Colorado accounting for over 178 pounds and Utah roughly 22 pounds.

The seizures represent potentially millions of fatal doses, given that just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose. Two milligrams can fit on the tip of a pencil.

DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge David Olesky said in the statement that fentanyl represents a “massive threat” to the safety of the American public.

“Our division continues to seize an abundance of fentanyl pills disproportionally higher than the amounts seized in other parts of the country,” Olesky said.

“While fentanyl powder is both prevalent and being seized in larger quantities across the U.S., the I-25 and I-70 corridors are building a reputation as fentanyl pill super highways.”

Nationwide, DEA has seized 18.7 million fentanyl pills and 7,903 pounds of fentanyl powder this year so far. In 2025, the agency seized roughly 47 million pills for the entire year.

Fentanyl is a major contributor to drug overdose deaths in the United States. In 2025, there were an estimated 69,973 drug overdoses in the country, out of which 38,084 involved fentanyl, according to a May 13 statement from the National Center for Health Statistics.

To control the influx and distribution of fentanyl, President Donald Trump signed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act in July last year.

The Act reclassified substances related to fentanyl as Schedule 1 narcotics, the strictest designation established under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill mandates 10-year prison terms for people convicted of distributing 100 grams or more of any fentanyl-related or derived drugs.

In addition to the DEA, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been actively seizing illicit fentanyl. In the first nine months of fiscal year 2026, CBP has seized 8,600 pounds of fentanyl. During the entirety of last fiscal year, around 12,000 pounds of fentanyl were seized.

China and Fentanyl

During a June 4 House hearing, Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) criticized the Trump administration for allegedly failing to gain cooperation from China in countering the opioid crisis, adding that Beijing remains a “major source” of precursor chemicals fueling the opioid epidemic in the United States. Opioids are a class of drugs that includes fentanyl and morphine.

“The Trump–Xi summit in Beijing last month was an opportunity for the president to make progress. But we haven’t seen any changes or updates on this urgent matter,” Amo said.

The lawmaker was referring to Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in May. Trump did highlight the need to end the flow of fentanyl precursors into the United States in his meeting with Xi, according to a White House X post on May 14.

During the hearing, Steve Yates, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, highlighted that despite making promises of cooperation with Presidents Barack Obama, Trump, and Joe Biden, Beijing has not taken any “strategically significant steps” to stem the flow of illicit precursors.

According to Yates, this seems to be “by choice rather than coincidence” given how China exerts great control over religion, politics, and legitimately sensitive materials.

“Since increased economic and diplomatic pressures were applied in 2025, China’s diplomatic strategy appears to be to announce and do just enough to keep stronger measures and consequences at bay, without taking on the sizable sector of their chemical/pharmaceutical industry involved in this illicit and deadly trade,” Yates said.

The actions by the Chinese indicate that enforcement is not “a meaningful priority for them,” Yates said, adding that it is expected they will continue to do “the minimum necessary” to keep off American pressure regarding the issue.

In a June 6 interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, FBI Director Kash Patel said that Beijing’s plan is to weaken the United States over the long term through the fentanyl crisis.

The Chinese regime does not make much money from the drug trade by supplying fentanyl precursors, Patel said. What Beijing is focused on is to “take out generations of young men and women” who could have become soldiers, police officers, and teachers.

“That’s what they [China] are doing, when you wipe out tens of thousands of Americans a year,” Patel said. “It’s a long-term plan for them.”