Battling the Fentynal scourge killing Americans.

0:00 Speaker 1 What is today is Frank Tarantino, Special Agent in charge of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and Frank heart you. You have made some successes going on. Tell us what’s going on?

0:16 Speaker 2 Well, good as noon, John, It’s great to be here. What I would tell you is that the DEA New York Division and DA across the country are laser focused on defeating the cartels and the Chinese criminal groups that are impacting our area. And what what I will tell you is that we’ve had some significant successes in the

0:35 recent months and weeks. More pointedly, Operation Last Mile resulted in some significant seizures for the New York Division. We seized over one point five million pills and roughly three hundred and seventy five pounds of fentonal powder, and that equates to approximately ten point five million potential lethal doses that we’ve removed from our city streets here in New York,

1:00 and that has a significant impact on the public health and public safety of our communities.

1:06 Speaker 1 That is a big, big number. And I’m glad we’re headed a curve right now, but so many people are dying in our country. What can we do? What else can the American people do? What else can New Yorkers do well.

1:23 Speaker 2 John. What we’re doing every single day is trying to educate the public on the threat that is emanating from Mexico and China. The cartels are intentionally deliberately and very calculatedly deceiving Americans by mixing fentanyl into all of the drugs that are appearing on our city streets. So it’s mixed into cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and clearly it’s in these

1:48 fake pills that we’re seizing every day. And so what we want the public to know is that this threat exists, that they need to arm themselves with information and not knowledge about how lethal fentanyl is. Only two milligrams is a lethal dose. We want them to educate their loved ones, especially the most vulnerable, and we want educators and caregivers

2:15 and people in areas of responsibility to go on to our website, go onto the DEA dot gov site, backslash one pill, and download our information and arm themselves with the information that can help save a life.

2:29 Speaker 1 Our schools are they helping? Are they taking the kids in school? John?

2:35 Speaker 2 We’re working with the local communities and with the school districts to get into the schools to educate them on the one Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign. And also we do a lot with Red Ribbon during the month of October to educate all the young people about the dangers involving in illicit narcotics. But again, this is the

2:58 DEA’s focus right now. The number one priorities to defeat the cartels. The number one priority is to educate and influence the community on the threat that emanates from Mexico and China. The Chinese criminal groups are responsible for the precursor chemicals that are flowing into Mexico that are being synthesized in these massive laboratories, these clandestine laboratories in Mexico, John,

3:25 they’re the ones that are mass producing these fentanyl pills in hundreds of millions of doses that are flooding into the United States, into New York City and ending up on social media. And so, John, one real key point I think of emphasis that I’d like to point out is that social media plays a very big role in

3:43 this problem that we’re facing. Roughly, of the over three thousand cases that we had across the country during Operation Last Mile, which was from May twenty one to May twenty two, over half of our investigations involved some type of social media application and or encrypted app. So what we’re seeing is the cartels weaponizing social media to increase

4:09 their customer base and influence the most vulnerable people out there to take that poison that’s killing Americans.

4:17 Speaker 1 It’s horrible what’s going on. I understand we’ve killed over one hundred thousand Americans in the last twelve months, is that correct?

4:26 Speaker 2 John? We have experienced in a twelve month period over one hundred and seven, seven hundred and thirty five overdose bests in or poisonings in the United States, which is the greatest number that we have ever experienced. It is the greatest threat to Americans today is pentanyl Operation Last Mile, which existed from May twenty second to May from Americans.

4:52 Do Americans need to be very vigilant about the dangers that work on on social media with the drug traffickers that are portraying themselves as people who can help them with different public and social economic issues that they’re experiencing.

5:13 These are not the types of pills that you would get from a licensed doctor or from a pharmacist if you’re trying.

5:18 Speaker 1 In other words, you buy your stuff from a licensed pharmacist. Don’t buy from anybody in the streets.

5:24 Speaker 2 That’s one hundred percent accurate. John. If you’re getting your drugs off of the Internet, off of social media, or on the street, it’s going to be laced with fentanyl. It’s going to be lethal, and you may die. You’re very well may die. Yes. An operation last while was DEA’s effort to hold those distribution networks accountable for spreading

5:46 the fentanyl pills and the fentanal powder throughout the United States, but more specifically here in New York City. The DEA in New York Division is laser focused on defeating the cartels. We have over forty five investigations targeting the cartels, thirty seven involving Cineloa and fourteen involving Jlisco. And this is our focus every day, is to defeat the cartels, hold

6:06 them accountable for causing the most harm in our communities. And the statistics speak for themselves. Over one point five million pill seized, over three hundred and seventy five pounds of fentonal powder, roughly over ten point five million potential lethal doses removed from our New York City streets. Is saving lives and that’s what DEA’s mission is. Every day,

6:27 save lives.

6:28 Speaker 1 Thank you, Frank Tarantino, Special Agent in charge of US Drug Enforcement Administration in New York. Thank you so much.

6:36 Speaker 2 Thank you John