Mexican drug cartels are manufacturing and distributing large quantities of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl throughout North America, according to a Nov. 4 warning from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The DEA sampled tablets seized from January to March and found 27 percent contained potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.
"Capitalizing on the opioid epidemic and prescription drug abuse in the United States, drug trafficking organizations are now sending counterfeit pills made with fentanyl in bulk to the United States for distribution," Uttam Dhillon, DEA acting administrator, said in a news release, adding that counterfeit pills with fentanyl and fentanyl-laced heroin are responsible for thousands of deaths every year.
Fentanyl is involved in more deaths than any other illegal drug, with a lethal dose estimated to be about two milligrams.