Criminal drug networks are flooding the U.S. with deadly fake pills and falsely
marketing them as legitimate!
International and domestic criminal drug networks are mass-producing fake pills, falsely marketing them as legitimate prescription pills, and killing unsuspecting Americans.
More than 9.5 million counterfeit pills were seized so far in 2021 which is more than the last two years combined.
Officials report a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered a deadly dose.
The number of DEA-seized counterfeit pills with fentanyl has jumped nearly 430 percent since 2019, a staggering increase.
DEA laboratory testing further reveals that today, two out of every five pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.
Additionally, methamphetamine is increasingly being pressed into counterfeit pills.
Some of the most common counterfeit pills are made to look like prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Oxycontin®, Percocet®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and alprazolam (Xanax®); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall®).
Fake prescription pills are widely accessible and often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms – making them available to anyone with a smartphone, including teens and young adults.
These counterfeit pills have been seized by the DEA in every U.S. state, and in
unprecedented quantities.
Drug traffickers are using fake pills to exploit the opioid crisis and prescription drug misuse in the United States, bringing overdose deaths and violence to American communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last year more than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States, marking the largest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year. Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid most commonly found in counterfeit pills, is the primary driver of this alarming increase in overdose deaths.
Pills purchased outside of a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal.
Drug trafficking is also inextricably linked with violence. In 2021, DEA seized more than 2700 firearms in connection with drug trafficking investigations – a 30 percent increase since 2019.
DEA remains steadfast in its mission to protect our communities, enforce U.S. drug laws, and bring to justice the foreign and domestic criminals sourcing,
producing, and distributing these deadly fake pills.
For more information about counterfeit pills, go to One Pill Can Kill (dea.gov)