Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force helped seize 1,068,219 fentanyl pills and 423 pounds of fentanyl powder in June.
June’s seizures had an estimated street value of $3,875,355. Since January, the task force has seized over 8 million pills and 4,000 pounds of powder .
In the last two decades, the opioid crisis has killed over 564,000 people in the United States from overdose deaths alone.
In response, Newsom launched a plan for tackling the crisis, which included overdose prevention efforts, new standards for the opioid pharmaceutical industry, cracking down on drug trafficking, raising awareness about the dangers of opioids, and increasing availability of over-the-counter naloxone.
Last month, Gov. Newsom announced that the state was doubling Cal Guard’s Counter Drug Task Force operations statewide, including at ports of entry along the border from 155 to now nearly 400 service members.
“We’re doubling down on our work to tackle the opioid and fentanyl crisis. California is hard at work getting illegal fentanyl off our streets, intercepting the drug at our border, and holding traffickers accountable,” he said.
The operations Cal Guard supported resulted in the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in 2023 — a 1,066% increase since 2021.
“The California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force continues to play an important role in the fight against fentanyl,” said Cal Guard Major General Matthew Beevers. “We are proud to be a part of this effort and will continue to provide critical resources to our local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement partners.”
