‘We’re going to catch you’: How authorities crackdown on fentanyl in California
FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – The crackdown on fentanyl in California continues.
In February, the California National Guard supported operations resulting in the seizure of more than one million fentanyl pills in California.
The State of Fentanyl: YourCentralValley.com’s complete coverage
In 2023 in California, a record amount of fentanyl was seized. Enough to kill everyone in the world nearly twice over.
At the border, thanks to the hard work of law enforcement agencies at the ports of entry, along with the help from CalGuard, the act of trafficking is getting harder.
Major General Matthew Beevers in Sacramento says they are working to make it harder for traffickers to bring the narcotics into the state.
“Yeah, we’re going to catch you. We continue to catch you. We’re going to deny your profits. We’re going to make it so extraordinarily hard to traffic narcotics into this state that you will look to do it elsewhere,” Beevers said.
Beevers goes on to explain just how big of an issue trafficking fentanyl is.
“It’s significant and by in large is greater than any other narcotics that kind of balances back and forth between fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, but, by in large, fentanyl becomes the number one challenge that we have. We see that coming across the border every day,” he said.
In September 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a 50% increase in California National Guard service members to the border. Today 60 soldiers are stationed in the four U.S. Ports of Entry.
Their goal is to assist the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in stopping fentanyl from entering California.
“We have seen some minor improvements in fentanyl numbers coming down across the border and we believe frankly that some of that stuff is now moving east because of the work we have done at the southern border. The challenge is, while some of that stuff is moving east through Arizona, it’s still coming back to California,” said Beevers.
In February 2024, CalGuard helped seize nearly 600,000 fentanyl pills at the border and more than one million across the state. In addition to pills, nearly 400 pounds of fentanyl powder was confiscated at the border and more than a thousand pounds statewide.
Dorman: “When you break down those numbers what does that mean, I mean to get that much fentanyl, that much fentanyl power off of the streets and pills off of the streets across the state? What does that mean?”
Beevers: “It means it’s taking that money out of the hands of transnational criminal organizations. It’s taking it out of the pockets of drug lords in Mexico and Central America. It’s impacting their supply chains that come from China and India.”
When it comes to tackling the problem, General Beevers says he is proud of the work his team of about 300 folks in his organization is doing every day.
He says the state has taken an honest assessment of the problem and is 100% committed to ending the fentanyl epidemic that has touched every state in the US,
“It’s easy to say there’s a problem, it’s much more challenging to actually address it and have the moral courage to go over it come what may. You know, we’re not always as successful as we want to be, but we are moving the needle forward, we are doing the things we need to do,” Beevers said.
And it is not just enforcement; CalGuard has service members in over 100 schools across the state educating students on the deadly consequences of fentanyl.
“We’ve probably engaged 100,000 students and this is not your mothers or grandfather’s just say no to drugs talking point if you will, this is trauma-informed training that speaks to how to improve your life, be more resilient, how to have a healthy lifestyle, how to just characterize how you want to live your life so you can remain drug-free,” he said.
They teach students that fentanyl is highly addictive. General Beevers often tells people methamphetamine takes 20 years to kill someone, but fentanyl takes 20 seconds.
He is most concerned about an alarming trend of more people deliberately seeking out fentanyl to feed their addiction. Those addicted to fentanyl typically die from it within four to five months.
Dorman: “To someone who is stuck in that lifestyle right now, what would be your message to them?”
Beevers provided insight as to what someone stuck in that cyclical lifestyle should do.
“Yeah, reach out. Call somebody. There’s a plethora of services across the state, in every town, in every community. Reach out, social services are there, police officers are there. I can assure you, if you walked up to a police officer in any city in our state and you tell them you have a problem and you need help, they will help you.”
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