The number of fentanyl cases in 2023 rose 20% over the prior year in Maricopa County, and 2024 is expected to pass last year’s numbers, authorities said.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office also found there is a “dramatic increase in the quantity of fentanyl pills involved in these cases,” according to a release.

Officials with MCAO’s Drug Trafficking Bureau said that in the past a case involving 1,000 fentanyl pills was significant. Today, quantities of fentanyl pills seized from high-level distributors are in the millions.  

As for prosecution submittals for fentanyl cases, 7,877 were recorded in 2023, nearly a 20% increase from the year prior. With approximately 2,214 fentanyl cases filed as of April 2024, MCAO is once again expected to surpass last year’s numbers, officials said.

“As a community, we need to be a united front in the fight against fentanyl. To do that effectively, members of the community need to know what we’re facing together,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated in the release.

“MCAO will continue to lead the fight against fentanyl by prosecuting high-level distributors, educating the community and helping to distribute lifesaving Narcan. At the same time, we need people to report suspicious activity, and most importantly, pay attention to their children and talk to them.”

For more: MCAO’s Fentanyl Resource

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