By Austin Sack | Fox27 News
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A record number of fentanyl pills are being seized across Colorado, with local law enforcement agencies like the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) crediting the success partly to their department’s ability to deploy officers undercover.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Rocky Mountain Field Division announced it seized nearly 2.7 million fentanyl pills – or “fake” pills – in Colorado in 2024. This breaks the previous record set in 2023 with 2.61 million pills seized in the state.
“It is an unfortunate record to set,” said DEA RMFD Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. “We continue to work day in, day out fighting the cartels putting this poison on Colorado streets. While we have seen seizure numbers trending lower in other parts of the country, Colorado seems to be consistently at or near record highs for the number of fake pills seized.”
Just two milligrams of fentanyl, an amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil, can cause a deadly overdose. FOX21 News had the chance to sit down with an undercover CSPD detective to learn more about the challenges they’re facing and how the community can play a part in the fight against fentanyl.
“With fentanyl, it is essentially a Russian roulette and one pill could kill you,” the detective said.
This undercover detective has been with CSPD’s Metro Narcotics Unit since 2018. He said fentanyl has been in Colorado Springs for at least the last five years.