Montana on track to triple last year’s fentanyl seizures

Montana is on track to triple last year’s record-setting fentanyl seizures, according to a news release Tuesday from the Attorney General’s Office.

Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces have seized 111,611 combined fentanyl dosage units through June 30 of this year. However, that number only accounts for the fentanyl seized by the Rocky Mountain Task Forces and does not account for all drugs seized by all law enforcement in the state, according to the news release.

The amount seized this year is up significantly from 2021, when law enforcement seized 60,557 combined dosage units, said the news release. In 2020, the amount was 6,663, and in 2019 it was 1,900.

Deaths related to fentanyl, opioid-connected 911 calls and firearms found in conjunction with illicit drugs are also on the rise this year, according to the release.

“There’s no question that fentanyl is now the number one public safety threat facing Montana. Mexican drug cartels are pushing it across the border, flooding it into our state at an unprecedented rate — and killing Montanans,” Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement. “I’ve put additional resources into the fight against drugs and crime in Montana and will continue my efforts alongside other law enforcement agencies to keep our communities safe.”

Driven largely by fentanyl, drug overdose deaths increased 30 percent in the United States from 2019 to 2020 and are now a leading cause of death for young adults, the news release said. And the rate of overdose deaths increased 49 percent among Native American people ages 25 to 44 years old, said the news release, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Like the rest of the country, overdoses have also been increasing in Montana.

Last year, the state crime lab saw fentanyl-linked fatal overdoses increase more than 1,100 percent since 2017 — from 4 in 2017 to 49 in 2021. Through the first five months of this year, the state crime lab has confirmed 34 fentanyl-related deaths, according to the release.

In March, the Blackfeet Tribe declared a state of emergency after 17 drug overdoses – including four that were fatal – occurred in just one week. In the period from May 22 to June 1, there were at least eight fatal overdoses across seven different Montana counties involving individuals aged 24 to 60 years old, the release said.

Additionally, opioid-related 911 calls are up 57 percent this year from last, according to the release. In the case of firearms linked to illegal drugs, Montana law enforcement agencies have already seized 308 weapons this year — 82 percent of last year’s 375 total.

Meth and other drugs also remain a problem in the state. According to the release, Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces have seized 129 pounds of meth, 4.6 pounds of heroin and 8.1 pounds of cocaine.

“To fight the problem in our state, Attorney General Knudsen has increased the number of Montana Department of Justice narcotics and major case agents, added a statewide drug intelligence officer who assists local law enforcement and public health agencies, and spearheaded a grant program that helped deploy two dozen drug detecting K9s around the state,” the release said.