Everything You Need to Know about Liquid Fentanyl Showing Up in the U.S.
Liquid fentanyl has hit the streets. Here's the information you need on it.
There is some good intelligence for you below. I don’t want to paywall it because you need to hear about this. With that said, please consider a paid subscription to the DIB. It helps me justify putting out intelligence to you each week.
The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a prominent Mexican drug trafficking organization, has been identified as orchestrating an elaborate scheme to produce and distribute liquid fentanyl into the Los Angeles area. This bulletin presents an analysis of recent seizures and the implications for law enforcement agencies.
Concealment and Transportation of Liquid Fentanyl
CJNG has leveraged a variety of containers to smuggle liquid fentanyl across the border into the United States. These include:
Large industrial drums
Standard water bottles
Carboys, which are rigid containers with a capacity of typically 5–15 gallons
Processing and Extracting Liquid Fentanyl
Upon arrival, the substance is subjected to a heating process which separates the fentanyl into an oil layer. This layer is then extracted using a syringe and is ready for further illicit distribution. The extracted substance can be administered intravenously, posing significant risks due to the high potency of fentanyl
Purity Analysis and Public Safety Concerns
Recent seizures have shown a range of fentanyl purity from 0.02% to 0.04%. With 0.02% purity, a 16-ounce bottle of this liquid narcotic contains approximately 40-50 lethal doses, equating to about 90 millimeters of pure fentanyl. At 0.04% purity, the content of pure fentanyl doubles, indicating the presence of roughly 200 millimeters of the drug in the same volume.
Impact on Law Enforcement Strategies
Given the low concentration but high potency of these liquid shipments, it is critical for law enforcement to adapt detection methods. Standard drug identification techniques may not be sufficient to identify the presence of fentanyl in these liquid solutions, necessitating updated protocols and testing methods.
Reagent based testing methods should not be used anymore. I recommend using a mass spectrometer like the X908 in the field. I am not incentivized by the makers of X908. I’ve used it and it is what teams in the field should be using at this time.
Regional Enforcement Collaboration
To effectively counteract this distribution network, regional collaboration is essential. Sharing intelligence, resources, and strategies among law enforcement agencies can enhance the capacity to intercept these shipments and disrupt the supply chain.
Operational Challenges and Future Directions
The evolving tactics of CJNG highlight the adaptability of drug trafficking organizations. Law enforcement must remain vigilant, improving surveillance and interception methods to keep pace with these changing strategies.
Engagement and Information Sharing
Your experiences and insights are invaluable to the collective effort in combating narcotic distribution. Please share your observations and any intelligence that could aid in the understanding and interception of such drug trafficking operations.
The handheld mass spectrometer is the MX908.
Have been tracking this with the DEA Southern Lab folks. Seems like so far around a total of 3-4 hundred gallons seized along the border. Largest in the Car Boys, but lab says although preliminary/presumptive testing is spotty (due to low concentrations) with current means; the fentanyl test strips DEA uses pop positive no matter what. Also the concentrations have varied from extremely low to way too high...lab thinks Mexican chemists are just figuring out formulations.