PHOENIX, Arizona — Federal authorities seized more than 30,000 fentanyl pills as part of an ongoing investigation targeting the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations in this city. While the use of fentanyl as a recreational drug is relatively new, it became an increasing threat due to the drug being 100 percent more powerful than morphine.

The recent seizure was made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Tempe Police detectives as part of an investigation against a criminal organization aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, information released by the DEA revealed. The record seizure of fentanyl pills occured after a traffic stop requested by DEA agents. During the search, agents also found a loaded handgun.

“This massive seizure removed thousands of potentially lethal doses of this powerful narcotic off the streets,” said Doug Coleman, special agent in charge of the DEA in Arizona. “DEA will never relent in its pursuit of Mexican cartels who manufacture huge quantities of fake oxycodone pills using fentanyl.”

According to the DEA, the investigation was targeting a drug trafficking organization related to the Sinaloa Cartel. Breitbart Texas documented the presence of Sinaloa cells operating in Arizona.

While pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl is legal in the United States and is prescribed to cancer patients with chronic pain, the misused drug triggered an epidemic of overdoses. According to authorities, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. The substance led police departments to change the way they operate and carry out seizures to avoid accidental exposure. An Ohio officer suffered an overdose after brushing the drug in powder form off his uniform with an un-gloved hand, Breitbart Texas reported.



The pills recovered by the DEA on Sunday were blue in color and stamped with an “M” and “30,” similar to counterfeit oxycodone pills found in Arizona earlier this year.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported a total of 790 Arizonans died in 2016 from opioid overdoses, an increase of 74 percent since 2012. In response to the epidemic, Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order seeking to bolster reporting of data on suspected opioid deaths and overdoses across Arizona.

The sweeping executive order requires all licensed doctors, pharmacists, hospitals, correctional facilities, emergency medical responders, ambulance providers, and medical examiners to report within 24 hours information on suspected deaths, overdoses, and use of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)