DEA: More than 379 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl seized in 2022

It’s unclear if any of the fentanyl seized over the last year was found in Central Texas, but there’s no doubt that fentanyl has already left its mark locally.

AUSTIN, Texas - More than 50 million fake, fentanyl-laced pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized by the DEA in 2022.

"This combined is enough to produce about 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl," said Tyson Hodges, Special Agent in Charge at Austin’s DEA office.

The current U.S. population is roughly 330 million.

The ultimate goal is to stop the flow at its source.

"We know the Chinese are supplying the Mexican cartels with precursor chemicals, specifically the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels," said Hodges. "They are taking those synthetic chemicals, putting them together, manufacturing them, pressing them into pill forms and selling them."

It’s unclear if any of the fentanyl seized over the last year was found in Central Texas, but there’s no doubt that fentanyl has already left its mark locally.

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DEA, local law enforcement agencies form task force after string of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Hays County

On Thursday, representatives from local law enforcement and the DEA held a press conference to announce new measures to fight the growing crisis.

Earlier this year, the DEA joined forces with local and state law enforcement to form a task force after four students in Hays County died of fentanyl-related overdoses this summer.

"We’re progressing in that we've assigned several agents and task force officers to directly investigate overdose deaths, not only in Hays County but throughout Central Texas," said Hodges.

15-year-old Noah Rodriguez was one of those students.

After his death, his mother, Janel Rodriguez, started fundraising to put up a digital billboard in Hays County with the faces of those who died and the phrase "fentanyl steals your friends."

"Even after Noah's funeral, there were still a lot of overdoses happening," she said. "Thankfully, they were able to be revived, but even kids that attended Noah’s funeral were overdosing, and I just felt like if they really saw it on a big screen they might realize, like, this is real life."

She told FOX 7 the billboard will go up on Jan. 8, and she plans to host a public picnic.

Rodriguez also started the Forever15Project and the website went online Tuesday. The goal is to spread awareness and provide resources as well as honor those who have lost their lives due to fentanyl.