U.S. Attorney’s Office and DEA Announce Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force

Baltimore, Maryland - Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Washington Division, announced that their agencies have formed the Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force ("MFFOTF").

The alarming rate of overdoses in Maryland has continued, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths from July 2023 through June 2024 - more than 1,600 were fentanyl related.

According to the DEA, fentanyl has reached every corner of Maryland. It is cheaper and more readily available than ever before.

The Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force is a joint local, state, and federal task force consisting of sworn law-enforcement members from agencies throughout Maryland. Led and coordinated by DEA's Washington Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, task force participants remain with their departments conducting their normal duties and will serve on the task force as a collateral duty when needed. The goal of task force is to raise awareness and increase the number of prosecutable overdose-death cases through proper evidence collection and preservation, while also conducting community outreach to educate vulnerable communities throughout Maryland.

"This problem demands a reinvigorated, unified response throughout Maryland," said Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. "Devastated communities and families are urging us to do more, especially more education and intervention to prevent the needless loss of life."

"The threat to our national security posed by illicit drugs extends beyond traditional challenges and directly impacts public health and safety. Every day, the DEA - alongside its local, state, and federal partners - works to preserve the safety and health of our citizens," said Special Agent in Charge Forget. "As you can see, we recognize that it is essential to direct our resources to the most affected communities. This initiative is a clear example of our collective response to disrupt and dismantle criminal drug trafficking networks, both domestic and abroad, and provide training, operational resources, and engage directly with the communities to talk about drug prevention, fentanyl, and how only 'One Pill Can Kill'."

As of October 2024, MFFOTF is comprised of 17 state, local, and federal law-enforcement offices:

• Anne Arundel County Police Department
• Baltimore Police Department
• Baltimore County Police Department
• Calvert County Sheriff's Office
• Cecil County Sheriff's Office
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Frederick City Police Department
• Hagerstown Police Department
• Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
• Montgomery County Police Department
• Ocean City Police Department
• Queen Anne's County Office of the Sheriff
• St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office
• U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland
• Washington County Sheriff's Department
• Wicomico County Sheriff's Department
• Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program

As part of this work, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the DEA created the following: a Public Service Announcement(link is external), a training for first-responding law enforcement arriving to an overdose crime scene, and a training for community education and outreach. As part of community outreach efforts, members of the task force have already delivered presentations on the dangers of fentanyl to more than 200 senior citizens across the state, including in Salisbury, Elkton, Hagerstown, Denton, and Prince Frederick.