DEA delivers major blows to drug cartels

(Press Release)

OMAHA, Neb., -- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dealt a significant blow to drug trafficking networks during Phase II of Operation Fentanyl Free America, seizing more than 57 million deadly doses of fentanyl nationwide between Jan. 12 and Feb. 10. In 30 days, agents from the five state DEA Omaha Field Division, encompassing Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, removed more than two million deadly doses of powder fentanyl and counterfeit pills combined. 

Eliminating the threat of fentanyl remains a top priority for the DEA. By dismantling complex transnational criminal organizations and disrupting the intricate illicit financial systems that fund the cartels, DEA is upholding its commitment to the American people to make their communities safer.  

“We may live several hundred miles from the Southern border, but the fentanyl found in our Midwestern communities is directly connected to cartels operating in Mexico,” DEA Omaha Field Division Special Agent in Charge Dustin Gillespie said. “The agents in our five-state region are committed to hitting back at the cartels and removing the poisons they peddle in our communities.”   

Synthetic drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, are manufactured on an industrial scale in clandestine labs where precursor chemicals and pill presses are common tools. Transnational criminal organizations often deal in multiple substances, as reflected in DEA’s seizure results. During this 30-day operation, DEA Omaha Field Division investigators seized roughly 715 pounds of methamphetamine plus an additional 2,234 methamphetamine pills. Agents removed more than 230 pounds of cocaine, 880 pounds of illicit marijuana and 67 firearms, resulting in 115 arrests.  

DEA launched the Fentanyl Free America initiative in October 2025, renewing focus on targeted enforcement operations on illicit drug networks, ensuring DEA registrants are working within the closed system of distribution and increasing public awareness to reduce both the supply and demand of illicit drugs. This was the second targeted enforcement operation under the Fentanyl Free America initiative.