Metro Phoenix prosecutors on pace to file over 8,000 fentanyl-related cases again

PHOENIX – Metro Phoenix prosecutors are on pace to file more than 8,000 cases involving fentanyl for the second consecutive year.

“Last year, we filed 8,975,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell told KTAR News 92.3 FM last week. “This year, through July, the numbers are looking like we’re going to come very close to that number this year, as well.”

The annual number of cases related to possession, sale, transport or manufacturing of fentanyl has increased rapidly in recent years.

The total of 4,738 fentanyl-related cases through the first seven months of 2024 is already higher than the 4,690 such cases filed in all of 2021, according to County Attorney’s Office statistics.

Mitchell said the metro Phoenix fentanyl trends can be attributed to an increase in trafficking activity as well as a greater focus on the issue.

“We’re also doing a lot more collaboration under my administration with federal, state and local authorities in order to intervene with the cartel’s infrastructure that they have on this side of the border and to hold these individuals accountable,” she said. “But we’re also seeing a steady increase in the amount of fentanyl that’s coming across the border.”

Mitchell said the most serious cases are for possessing the synthetic opioid for sale or for transporting it.

“People who are charged with possession are usually people who have an addiction problem themselves,” she said. “We have a unit that focuses more on the transportation of it. We’re not really seeing the manufacture of it happened on this side of the border.”

Valley officials are also trying to combat the problem through awareness. Last year, the county unveiled a Focus on Fentanyl website designed to help residents understand the growing impact of the drug.

“I don’t even want to call it a drug,” Mitchell said. “It’s a poison, and they’re bringing poison into their community, and when we catch you, we’re going to send you to prison for doing it.”

What are some other metro Phoenix fentanyl trends?

The fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. is also becoming more powerful, according to Mitchell.

About a year ago, six out of every 10 pills that came across the border had a potentially lethal dose. That’s up to seven out of 10 this year, she said.

“It’s becoming more potent,” she said. “We’re seeing more powder as opposed to pill form, and we believe that’s because they can pack it tighter and so they’re able to bring more of the fentanyl across that way.”

Another trend is that cartels are using social media to recruit more young Americans to smuggle the drugs into the country from Mexico, Mitchell said.

“Just last year we put two sisters in prison — both in their 20s, no criminal history — for bringing 850,000 pills across the border,” she said. “It’s just a massive problem, and they’re paying large amounts of money.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Kate Ourada contributed to this report.

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