The Detroit Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated about 300 pounds of fentanyl in 2025, a significant decline from previous years, according to a report released by the Justice Department Thursday night.
The number was part of the DEA’s 2025 seizure statistics, which the government said reflects “significant enforcement efforts aimed at dismantling drug trafficking organizations and protecting” communities in the Detroit field division, which includes Michigan, Ohio and northern Kentucky.”
In addition to the deadly fentanyl powder and pills, seizures included thousands of pounds of other drugs, firearms, cash, and made close to 1,000 arrests.
Throughout 2025, the DEA Detroit Field Division seized:
- 147 kilograms (295 pounds) of fentanyl
- 432 kilograms (864 pounds) of counterfeit pills
- 1,658 kilograms (3,316 pounds) of cocaine
- 1,054 kilograms (2,108 pounds) of methamphetamine
- 324 firearms
- More than $17 million in cash and assets
- And made 950 arrests
“Every kilogram of fentanyl we seize represents lives saved,” Joseph Dixon, special agent in charge of the DEA Detroit Field Division, said in the release. “These enforcement actions are about protecting American families, disrupting the criminal networks that profit from addiction, and advancing our mission of a fentanyl-free America.”
Because the district covers three states, it was not immediately clear how much of that fentanyl came from Michigan and how much came from the other states.
Nationally, the number of fentanyl confiscations peaked in 2023 and have been on the decline since. That year, the Detroit Field Division confiscated 1,168 pounds of fentanyl, a 70% increase from the previous year.
Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.
Authorities said fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.
As part of its efforts to combat the crisis, the DEA continues to form community partnerships and raise public awareness, the statement said. For more information about the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills, visit dea.gov/fentanylfree
