Law enforcement in Pennsylvania has seized more than 50 million doses of fentanyl this year, with more than half confiscated in the Philadelphia region, state Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Wednesday.
The target – equivalent to more than 220 pounds – was reached in September and equals the total amount of the synthetic opioid recovered in all of 2024, officials said. Nearly 27 million doses were found in the city and its collar counties, according to authorities.
“And any one of those 50 million doses could have killed someone,” Sunday said during an afternoon news conference at the Attorney General’s Center City office.
In addition to fentanyl packaged for sale and bulk powder, police across the commonwealth have taken more than 76,000 pills off the street, he added.
The announcement comes on the heels of a federal indictment that came down Friday, Oct. 24, charging 33 alleged members of a drug trafficking organization that primarily operated on the 3100 block of Weymouth Street in Kensington. The 50 million dose total does not include any narcotics seized as part of that investigation.
“I keep telling people, we got the wind at our back,” Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at the press briefing.
Among the larger busts highlighted by the AG’s Office was a May raid of an alleged fentanyl-packaging ring in Fairhill that netted more than 41 pounds of fentanyl and xylazine, an animal sedative used as a cutting agent, valued at more than $6 million.
At least 200,000 doses recovered in that operation were earmarked for shipment to Pittsburgh, showing the interconnectedness of the fentanyl trade, authorities said.
Monday’s event hailed partnerships that have formed between law enforcement in Philadelphia and the suburbs, as well as investigators working on the issue at the state and national level.
“We as chiefs in suburban communities have benefited from the leadership in Philadelphia, the FBI and all the great work that's done,” Abington Police Chief Patrick Molloy said.
“We're one region when it comes to public safety, and everybody needs to hear that message,” remarked Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, echoing Mayor Cherelle Parker’s “One Philly” mantra.
Parker was slated to speak at the announcement, but her appearance was canceled due to illness. Sunday, a Republican and former York County district attorney, heaped praise on the mayor, saying she was among the first people he called after being elected last year.
“Sometimes a little bit of kindness and openness to work with people that you may not have worked with before can go a long, long way,” he added.
