Florida police have seized more than 23 kilograms of the synthetic drug fentanyl, enough to kill more than 11 million people, about half of that US state’s population.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody released a statement this Wednesday that 25 drug-trafficking defendants are members of a Mexican crime ring that sells the drug in jails in that state in the southeastern United States.
In a note, the Prosecutor General’s Office indicates that these detainees were associated with Mexican drug cartels and, in particular, are members of the SUR-13 gang, responsible for crimes related to drug trafficking.
In July, Ashley Moody asked US President Joe Biden to classify fentanyl, which is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the country, as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
Very strong synthetic drugs such as fentanyl are responsible for a new high in overdose deaths in the US.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, and even small amounts can be fatal.
According to an investigation conducted by the US Federal Police (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office, members of the SUR-13 gang ran a drug trafficking organization in Florida prisons.
The prosecutor pointed out that in just a few months, authorities seized enough fentanyl “to wipe out the combined population of 66 of Florida’s 67 counties: more than 19 million people.”
According to investigators, in cooperation with the MS-13 and Latin Kings gangs, the leaders of the criminal organization authorized the execution of other prisoners and the distribution of drugs from Mexico.
Using smuggled mobile phones, SUR-13 members communicated with each other from various state prisons.
During the operation, authorities seized more than 23 kilograms of fentanyl, as well as 172 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2.2 kilograms of cocaine, 566 grams of oxycodone, 453 grams of black tar heroin and 226 grams of morphine.
US justice has indicted 25 suspects on 64 counts, including extortion, drug trafficking and conspiracy to organize criminal activities, among many others.
In 2021, 77% of all teen overdose deaths in the US were associated with fentanyl use.
In Florida, in the twelve months from October 2020 to September 2021, 7,574 people died from overdoses, compared to 7,422 during the same period the previous year.
In 2019, the Department of Homeland Security was already considering classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction, given its “high toxicity and growing availability of the drug.”
