DEA seizes fentanyl, pill presses, guns and millions in cash

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

Armed with battering rams and search warrants, federal agents stormed homes and warehouses across the country, seizing millions in cash, piles of illegal drugs and a deadly arsenal, signaling an aggressive escalation in America’s war on drugs.

The multi-agency crackdown, highlighted by the DEA’s Operation Fentanyl Free America, comes as the United States faces a shifting landscape in the opioid crisis. Although overdose deaths have declined from record highs, fentanyl and other synthetic drugs remain a deadly threat, fueling action by law enforcement and policymakers.

In the second phase of Operation Fentanyl Free America, the DEA seized more than 4.7 million fentanyl pills and nearly 2,400 pounds of fentanyl powder between Jan. 12 and Feb. 10.

“The drug poisoning epidemic has been cultivated by designated terrorist cartels who operate like multi-billion-dollar corporations and have weaponized fentanyl with the clear objective to increase America’s dependence on illicit drugs,” DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement.

Agents also confiscated 147,000 pounds of cocaine, 21,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 26 million methamphetamine pills, 1,200 pounds of heroin, 65,000 pounds of illicit cannabis and more than 1,500 firearms. More than 3,000 arrests were made nationwide.

President Donald Trump has made fentanyl the face of his renewed war on drugs in the U.S. He has also taken aggressive steps to reduce drug trafficking around Venezuela with military strikes on suspected drug boats. In October 2025, the DEA launched an enforcement initiative and awareness campaign called “Fentanyl Free America” to reduce supply and demand for fentanyl.

While drug overdose deaths have declined in the U.S., they remain a significant public health crisis. Provisional CDC data show about 87,000 overdose deaths from October 2023 to September 2024, a drop from around 114,000 the previous year and the lowest total in any 12-month period since June 2020. For families, the toll remains devastating.

In December, the DEA reported that the first phase of the operation put “unprecedented pressure on the global fentanyl supply chain.” DEA lab testing found that 29% of fentanyl pills analyzed in fiscal year 2025 contained a potentially lethal dose, a sharp decrease from 76% in fiscal 2023. Fentanyl powder purity also dropped to 10.3%, down from 19.5%.

“Aside from producing less potent fentanyl, the cartels have increasingly diversified their operations in an attempt to minimize their risks and maximize profits, an evolution driven by opportunity and greed,” according to the drug agency.

Cole said the operations are hurting cartels.

“Drug seizures in the United States strike directly at cartel profits, while efforts to disrupt supply chains and dismantle money laundering networks deliver consequences far beyond our borders,” he said.

Cole also stressed education around opioids could help reduce overdose deaths.

“We must reach into our communities nationwide and share the simple truth: One pill can kill,” he said. “Enforcement saves lives. Education prevents the next tragedy. Together, we can end this crisis.”

The DEA seized about 29% less fentanyl in 2024 compared to the prior year, according to its 2025 threat assessment. In 2024, agents seized 22,000 pounds of fentanyl and 61 million fake pills – a 24% decrease from 2023. Data from the El Paso Intelligence Center’s National Seizure System reflect the same trend, with total fentanyl seizures down nationwide.

The drug agency is expected to release an updated drug threat assessment late this year.

The latest DEA operations come amid a wider war on drugs. The Department of War’s U.S. Southern Command carried out more than 45 strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, killing more than 140 people. The most recent military strikes came on Thursday, when Gen. Francis Donovan conducted a lethal kinetic strike, but Southern Command didn’t say how many people were killed in the strike.

“Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” Southern Command announced in a social media post.

Three suspected drug traffickers survived the attack. Military officials alerted the U.S. Coast Guard to begin search-and-rescue operations for survivors.

The strikes, part of Joint Task Force Southern Spear, target international drug smuggling operations in international waters. Trump has frequently said that each strike saves 25,000 American lives.

Since Trump began the controversial military strikes on suspected drug boats in the region in September, Democrats, a few Republicans, and some international groups have condemned the U.S. military strikes. Congress failed to pass a measure requiring Trump to get permission before launching such strikes.

U.S. officials have not estimated the weight or value of illegal drugs that have been destroyed in the military strikes. Trump has yet to use the military on suspected drug operations in other parts of the world, but has said he would consider military action elsewhere to stop drug smuggling.

The military strikes continue on some vessels, while others face more traditional enforcement, such as seizures and arrests.

Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca’s crew unloaded about 17,750 pounds of cocaine worth more than $133.5 million in Port Everglades from four interdictions in international waters off the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the Coast Guard.

Most of the world’s cocaine supply comes from nearby Colombia. China and other Asian nations produce most of the precursor chemicals needed to make fentanyl, the potent opioid responsible for most U.S. overdose deaths in recent years.