The Drug Enforcement Agency said Tuesday that it seized 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in 2022, enough to kill every American.

The seizures came in the form of over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, according to a DEA press release. Deaths from fentanyl overdose have skyrocketed across the U.S. in the last decade, leading to a focused crackdown from law enforcement agencies.

"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat facing this country," said the DEA's press release. "It is a highly addictive man-made opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, the small amount that fits on the tip of a pencil, is considered a potentially deadly dose."

The DEA said most fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. comes from Mexico, carried in by the Sinaloa and CJNG Cartels.

"DEA's top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels—the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels—that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.

Over 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, and two-thirds were attributed to fentanyl. In 2018, a CDC report found that fentanyl was the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses, beating out heroin and meth.

The DEA issued a public safety alert in 2021 warning of the market explosion of fake prescription pills — pills made to look identical to OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax — yet only contain filler and the deadly fentanyl.

The DEA warned that fake pills are typically found on social media, where sellers can pass off the dupes easier than in face-to-face dealings.

The DEA's report does not include seizures tallied by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) along the southern border, where authorities secured more than 14,000 pounds of illegal fentanyl during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. The CBP regularly discovers bundles of the dangerous drug, seizing 10 pounds of it in a single failed smuggling attempt in November.

The DEA said it has started providing a running tally of fentanyl seizures online, tracking how much of the drug the agency is confiscating.

In addition to the massive fentanyl seizures, the DEA also captured nearly 131,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 4,300 pounds of heroin, and over 444,000 pounds of cocaine.

U.S. Mexico Addiction