HELENA – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced a nearly 11,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures by anti-drug task forces in Montana since 2019. Additionally, triple the amount of fentanyl was seized in 2022 compared to 2021, obliterating previous records. The number of firearms found alongside drug shipments is also increasing.
Fentanyl-linked overdose deaths were also up from 2021. According to preliminary data from the State Crime Lab, there were 74 overdose deaths involving fentanyl in 2022 compared to 49 in 2021 – an increase of 51 percent. The statewide total is higher, as the crime lab only verifies deaths that involve an autopsy. Fentanyl-linked deaths confirmed by the crime lab increased 1,750 percent from 2017 when there were just four.
The task forces are also finding an increasing number of gun seizures – 25 percent more last year than in 2021. They seized 474 in 2022 and 375 in 2021. They also took 207.37 pounds of methamphetamine off the road in 2022, along with 7.29 pounds of heroin, and 22.25 pounds of cocaine
