Exclusive: New York City accounted for 10% of all fentanyl seized in U.S. in 2023
NEW YORK -- The battle to keep fentanyl off New York City streets continues.
Federal agents seized the highest amount of fentanyl ever in the Big Apple last year.
And of all the fentanyl seized in the United States last year, New York City accounted for 10% of it.
CBS New York recently sat down for an exclusively interview with the Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Agent in Charge.
"This has been the biggest drug threat we have ever seen in the history of DEA," Frank Tarentino said.
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Fentanyl now a leading cause of death in the U.S. and the most potent and sought after drug here in New York.
"Two milligrams is lethal. We're seizing pills with lethality of up four to six milligrams," Tarentino said.
The DEA has been on the frontlines of the fentanyl fight.
Tarentino says over 4 million fake fentanyl pills and over 500 kilos of fentanyl powder were seized in our area in 2023. That's equivalent to 37 million lethal doses.
"We're talking about the largest percentage of people 18-45 are dying from fentanyl," Tarentino said.
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And now, an alarming new poisonous polydrug mixture is hitting the streets.
"Fentanyl mixed into cocaine. Fentanyl mixed with meth. Fentanyl mixed into heroin. Fentanyl pills that contain fentanyl, xylazine and cocaine. Fentanyl being sold in glassine baggies that has fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, xylazine," Tarentino said.
Those are fentanyl combinations causing overdoses even Narcan can't reverse.
"It's scary because some of the antigens that will help save someone's life from an overdose, like Narcan, is not going to work on xylazine," Tarentino said.
It's a business strategy for cartels.
"They're trying to increase addiction," Tarentino said.
The DEA 7 out of 10 pills seized and tested in its lab have shown to been lethal. Agents say the fentanyl pipeline starts in China, where the chemicals are produced, and then distributed to cartels in Mexico, where fentanyl pills and powder are made in labs.
Traffickers then move loads of the pills and powder across the border and onto New York City's streets.
"The Bronx has become ground zero for these cartels and drug organizations because of the strategic location up the I-95 corridor. Easy access on and off 95. Stash locations that exist," Tarentino said.
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 6,000 people died of fentanyl poisoning in New York from June 2022 to June 2-23, with half in the New York City area, alone.
And data from the city's Department of Health shows 84% of drug related poisonings last year were caused by opioids.
"We're up against the criminal version of Amazon. Cartels have weaponized social media, applications that exist like crypto applications," Tarentino said.
In addition to enforcement, the agency continues to push its "one pill could kill campaign," which helps educates New Yorkers on fake drugs and their deadly doses.
"We have to do more right now to meet this moment," Tarentino said. "We're finding their vulnerabilities and we're attacking their vulnerabilities."
