[Times of San Diego] Authorities seized nearly 3,000 pounds of fentanyl in San Diego County between March and May, marking a 300% increase from the same time last year in an "unprecedented two-month fentanyl-enforcement surge" along the southwest border, officials announced last month. That means San Diego County, called an "epicenter" for fentanyl trafficking, could be dealing with more of the drug in local communities than ever before.
Nearly half of all fentanyl seized by authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border so far this year was seized in the San Diego area.
The effects of the national fentanyl crisis in San Diego have been acute. More than 2,300 people have died from accidental fentanyl overdoses since 2019 , according to data from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The drug has ravaged unhoused communities in particular , though the total number of fatal overdoses involving fentanyl in the county was lower in 2022 than the previous year, and 2023 appears to show a similar trend.
Since October, authorities in the San Diego area have seized more than 8,800 pounds of fentanyl , surpassing the amount seized in the previous fiscal year with still four months remaining, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP.
That increase follows years of fentanyl seizures steadily rising in the San Diego area — since at least 2019. Over five years, the amount of fentanyl seized by authorities has jumped more than fivefold.