Source: ABC11
Attorney General Josh Stein recently announced that he is seeking funding to establish a Fentanyl Control Unit within the North Carolina Department of Justice’s Special Prosecutions and Law Enforcement Section. The announcement comes at a time when North Carolina is experiencing an increased number of deaths due to overdose.
The goal of the Fentanyl Control Unit that Stein hopes to create would be to help local district attorneys handle large-scale fentanyl trafficking, wiretap, and overdose cases, according to ABC11. The specialized unit would prosecute fentanyl and other drug traffickers and dealers and provide additional expertise and resources for these cases.
“Fentanyl is deadly and highly addictive,” Stein said. “Even as we interdict more fentanyl at the border than ever before, too many North Carolinians overdose from fentanyl and are dying. We must hold those who peddle this poison accountable and take them off our streets. I look forward to working with leaders in the legislature to strengthen our state’s ability to prosecute these cases and save lives.”
In 2020, North Carolina saw a 40% increase in drug overdoses from the year before, and the number increased again by 22% in 2021.
For more information about effective ways to prevent and respond to an overdose, visit www.ncdhhs.gov/about/department-initiatives/overdose-epidemic or ncopioidsettlement.org or email beinjuryfreenc@dhhs.nc.gov. For more information about overdose data, visit www.injuryfreenc.ncdhhs.gov/DataSurveillance/Overdose.htm. or email substanceusedata@dhhs.nc.gov.
