HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a nearly 11,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures by anti-drug task forces in Montana since 2019. Additionally, triple the amount of fentanyl was seized in 2022 compared to 2021, obliterating previous records. The number of firearms found alongside drug shipments is also increasing.
In 2022, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task forces seized a total of 206,955 dosage units of fentanyl in Montana – an increase of nearly 10,800 percent since 2019 when they seized 1,900 dosage units and more than triple last year’s total of 60,577 dosage units.
“The amount of illicit fentanyl coming across the southern border has skyrocketed. This poison is killing Montanans,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “Our narcotics agents and troopers are getting more fentanyl off the roads than ever before, but we need additional tools and resources to keep it out of our communities.”
These quantities are from the six RMHIDTA Montana task forces and are not all includes of drugs seized by all law enforcement in the state. Attorney General Knudsen oversees the Montana Department of Justice’s narcotics bureau and Montana Highway Patrol criminal interdiction teams that participate in the task forces.
