WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: From April 15-21, the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force helped seize over 1.1 million fentanyl pills and 523 pounds of methamphetamine across San Diego County and the border.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the success of the state’s continuing counternarcotics operation throughout San Diego County and the border. Through the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, the state assisted in the recovery of 1,120,030 fentanyl pills and 523 pounds of methamphetamine last week, in support of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID: “We are doing our job to keep illegal drugs off the streets of California. By working with our state, local and federal partners, we are continuing to crack down on drug trafficking in our communities.”
CALIFORNIA’S LEADERSHIP: Cracking down on the smuggling of illegal drugs, Governor Newsom in March announced CalGuard-supported operations in February resulted in the seizure of over 1 million fentanyl pills in California — including more than 592,900 pills at the state’s ports of entry. Last month, the Governor visited the California-Mexico border and met with President Biden and senior White House officials to discuss key issues impacting California, including immigration and border policy. Earlier this year, Governor Newsom joined several states in urging Congress to act on border security and humanitarian support for local communities. In support of President Biden’s bilateral cooperation agreement with China on counternarcotics, the Governor spoke wth Chinese President Xi Jinping in October about combating the transnational shipping of precursor chemicals used to create fentanyl.
Last year, the Governor increased the number of CalGuard service members deployed to interdict drugs at U.S. ports of entry along the border by approximately 50%. The operations CalGuard supported resulted in the record seizure of 62,224 pounds of fentanyl in 2023 — a 1066% increase since 2021. CalGuard’s coordinated drug interdiction efforts in the state are funded in part by California’s $30 million investment to expand CalGuard’s work to prevent drug trafficking by transnational criminal organizations. Fentanyl is primarily smuggled into the country by U.S. citizens.
Since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, California has invested over $1 billion to crack down on opioid trafficking and enforce the law, combat overdoses, support those with opioid use disorder, and raise awareness about the dangers of opioids. The Governor’s Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis provides a comprehensive framework to deepen the impact of these investments.