HELENA — Montana Attorney General Austin Kundsen's office reports law enforcement officers seized more than 163,000 doses of fentanyl during the first quarter of 2024, marking a 150% increase from the same period last year.
The total represents fentanyl seized by members of the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces.
The Montana Attorney General's Office says the state is on track to surpass the totals of the drug seen in 2023 when 398,000 doses were confiscated.
“We’re on pace to far surpass last year’s record-shattering number of fentanylseizures. While I’m glad anti-drug task forces are successfully taking fentanyl off the street, it means more of this poison is making its way across the southern border and into Montana where it’s killing men, women, and children,” Attorney General Knudsen said.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths nationwide.
A news release states the State Crime Lab preliminarily reported 22 overdose deaths involving fentanyl so far this year.
The Montana Department of Justice also noted that officers also seized more than 30 pounds of cocaine, nearly 130 pounds of methamphetamine, and 116 weapons over the first three months of the year.
