WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) urged the Biden administration to increase cyber investigations of fentanyl trafficking. The senators highlighted how dark web opioid traffickers can exploit the anonymity and reach of the Internet to make illegal drugs available to American customers.
“We write to urge the administration to prioritize cyber investigations into fentanyl trafficking and to inquire about steps that the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are taking to stop fentanyl from being trafficked into the United States through the use of the dark web,” the senators wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “Too often, these drug overdoses are the result of drugs purchased illegally on the dark web. Because of the anonymity that the dark web provides, sellers are able to make illicit drugs available to tens of thousands of customers.”
“It is critical that the administration prioritize these investigations to help make sure that fentanyl does not continue to devastate communities across the country,” the senators continued.
Klobuchar has led efforts to tackle the rise in illegal opioids entering the U.S. Last month, she and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) called on the administration to fully implement the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP Act), enacted in 2018 to decrease the supply of fentanyl shipments by reducing the number of countries exempted from this law. Klobuchar and Portman were joined by Senator Capito in supporting the STOP Act.
Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Attorney General Garland, Administrator Milgram, and Secretary Mayorkas:
We write to urge the administration to prioritize cyber investigations into fentanyl trafficking and to inquire about steps that the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are taking to stop fentanyl from being trafficked into the United States through the use of the dark web.
In 2021, the United States had more than 100,000 drug overdose deaths, the highest number ever recorded, up from 41,000 in 2012. In 2020, the CDC reported that 75 percent of drug overdose deaths involved an opioid, and 82 percent of opioid-involved deaths involved synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.
Too often, these drug overdoses are the result of drugs purchased illegally on the dark web. Because of the anonymity that the dark web provides, sellers are able to make illicit drugs available to tens of thousands of customers. One 2021 study identified more than 28,000 listings for opioid products posted on anonymous online marketplaces.
While your Departments have worked to target dark web opioid traffickers, including by partnering with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, it is critical that the administration prioritize these investigations to help make sure that fentanyl does not continue to devastate communities across the country. In particular, we are interested in the steps your Departments are taking, or plan to take, to increase their capacity to conduct cyber investigations into fentanyl trafficking.
- What challenges or constraints has your Department faced in its efforts to stop fentanyl from entering communities across the United States through the dark web?
- How is your Department collaborating with other agencies to respond to fentanyl trafficking on the dark web?
- What steps has the Department taken, and what steps does it plan to take in the future, to stop fentanyl from making its way to American communities through the dark web?
- Has your Department considered how expanding cyber investigations into online fentanyl trafficking could help combat fentanyl trafficking? What steps, if any, has the Department taken to increase its capacity to conduct these kinds of investigations?
- What steps has your Department taken or does it plan to take to investigate and prevent the illicit movement of fentanyl precursors into the United States through the dark web?
We appreciate your attention to this important matter.
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