Florida Leads the Nation in Fentanyl Seizures as New Report Shows More Than 115 Million Fake Pills Flood US in 2023

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General Ashley Moody is commending law enforcement efforts as Florida leads the nation in fentanyl seizures. Shocking new statistics show a dramatic increase in the number of fake pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement nationwide-with Florida leading the charge to remove the deadly synthetic opioids from the streets. According to a recent report, law enforcement seized more than 115 million pills containing Mexican fentanyl in 2023. During President Trump's last year in office in 2020, with the border secure, law enforcement seized 4 million of the fake pills. The explosive report comes amid newly discovered immigration numbers that show more gotaways crossed the border during the Biden administration than the previous 10 years combined.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, "This damning report shows the deadly impact of Biden's wide-open border-record-smashing amounts of fentanyl flooding in and an extremely-high death toll to accompany the massive influx of this Mexican poison. In Florida, we are fighting back the death and destruction emanating from Biden's border crisis-leading the nation in fentanyl seizures and taking Biden to court in an effort to force him to do his job: close the border and protect the American people."

In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration's total amount of fentanyl seizures, roughly half in pill form, equaled more than 381 million lethal doses-greater than the population of the United States. A recent DEA report revealed that seven out of every 10 pills seized contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Florida is leading the nation in fentanyl seizures-as drug interdiction efforts increase to deal with the Mexican cartels smuggling illicit substances into the state. According to the report, Florida law enforcement participated in 2,089 fentanyl seizure operations from 2017 to 2023. Arizona is the next highest state on the list for seizures with 1,783.

In October 2022, Attorney General Moody announced that Florida law enforcement already seized enough fentanyl that year to kill the entire population of the state.

Fentanyl is being found in all sorts of illicit substances. That is why, Attorney General Moody continues to warn Floridians that one pill can kill-creating multiple resources to bring awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and opioid misuse. The One Pill Can Kill webpage is on DoseOfRealityFL.com and includes life-saving information. Dose of Reality is designed to provide Floridians a way to easily access vital information and resources to help combat opioid abuse. The resource also includes a Fast Facts on Fentanyl toolkit to educate parents and protect children from the deadly drug. The toolkit is available in both English and Spanish.

Last year, Attorney General Moody also launched the Helping Heroes program that provides free naloxone to emergency response agencies. Naloxone is a Food and Drug Administration approved medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose.

Anyone struggling with substance-abuse issues should visit DoseOfRealityFL.com for more information and resources to help overcome addiction. Those struggling with addiction can also find treatment resources at TreatmentAtlas.org.

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