ND & MN drug seizures climbed in 2023

The five state Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) marked an 83 percent increase in the number of fentanyl pills seized in 2023 and removed an estimated 2.9 million lethal doses of fentanyl both in pill and powder form. The Omaha Division is comprised of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and eight counties along the western border of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Within the DEA Omaha Division, Minnesota recorded the largest increase in pill seizures, with investigators taking off more than 417,000 pills for a 127 percent increase over 2022 totals. North Dakota pill seizures increased nearly 50 percent while Nebraska and South Dakota numbers declined.

Two states, Nebraska and North Dakota, recorded a jump in methamphetamine seizures from 2022 to 2023. Cocaine seizures were also up in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota in 2023.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.