Fentanyl Frenzy: 763 Kentucky Deaths Blamed on Synthetic Opioid

The latest statistics indicate that 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017 – the highest death toll in a single year and a staggering figure. Nearly 30,000 of those deaths were attributable to one particularly deadly synthetic opioid – fentanyl.

In Kentucky, the crisis is far too real. According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy’s 2017 Overdose Fatality Report, 1,468 Kentucky residents died of a drug overdose in 2017. Fentanyl was involved in 763 of those overdose deaths, accounting for 52% of all deaths – up from 47% in 2016.

Eastern Kentucky is being called the ‘ground zero’ of the overdose crisis, with 894 of the Commonwealth’s overdose deaths occurring in the 67 counties comprising the district. The top five counties in the Commonwealth, with the highest per capita overdose death rates, are all in this district. Fayette County ranked second in fentanyl related overdose deaths in 2017, with 112 overdoses.

The numbers represent real people, who fell prey to the plague of addiction. ‘These are not just numbers on a page – they are friends and loved ones,’ said a law enforcement official.

Law enforcement is fighting back, and is using every tool in the toolbox to combat the crisis. The Attorney General announced Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS), a program based on a successful initiative in Manatee County, Florida, where law enforcement aggressively prosecuted fentanyl distribution cases, helping in the reduction of overdose death rates.

As part of Operation SOS, the Eastern District of Kentucky was one of ten selected to receive funding for a new prosecutor that will be dedicated to reducing access to illicit fentanyl. Working in partnership with DEA, the Lexington Police Department, and the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, they will aggressively prosecute readily provable cases involving the distribution of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

The Eastern District of Kentucky will also continue its efforts in support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multiagency effort to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug trafficking and criminal organizations operating in the district and across the country. Their local OCDETF prosecutions have resulted in the seizure of enormous quantities of heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other drugs; the seizure of millions of dollars in drug proceeds; and the convictions of numerous drug traffickers.