CBS 58 Exclusive: An inside look at the DEA's North Central Lab
CHICAGO (CBS 58) -- Times are changing in the fight against fentanyl. Wisconsin used to be a destination state for illicit drugs, but lately, the state's starting to also be a primary transit state for drugs destined for Minneapolis along the I-90 corridor. That may be why the latest busts are in bulk and bigger than ever. CBS 58's Michele Fiore got an exclusive look inside the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) lab in Chicago, where those street drugs are being tested every day.
CBS 58 is the first Wisconsin station allowed inside the DEA's North Central Laboratory, where their most concerning find is fentanyl. Right now, pills are confiscated from criminals that test positive for fentanyl overall have less potency than in the past, but those making it into the hands of buyers are still taking lives.
Before DEA agents can win the war on drugs, first they need to know what they're fighting.
"Recently in Green Bay, they had the largest fentanyl pill seizure to date in the state of Wisconsin, and one of the largest and most significant seizures of counterfeit fentanyl pills in the country," said John McGarry, assistant special agent in charge for DEA Wisconsin.
The pill count was just shy of 200,000.
"Given the increasing number or size of the seizures both with this pill seizure and with the significant cocaine seizure in 2023, the largest in state history, almost 150 kilos, we see Wisconsin being used as a transshipment point -- or as a node for organizations that are operating in the wider geographic area of the Midwest," said McGarry.
John McGarry, assistant special agent in charge for DEA Wisconsin, walked CBS 58 through the North Central Lab. It's in an undisclosed location of downtown Chicago.
"In Wisconsin, we seized less than 1,000, and to now look at the state and see that we're seizing in the order of hundreds of thousands per year is a massive increase," McGarry said.
While the amount of fentanyl being found is increasing, overdose deaths are decreasing. In Milwaukee County, 2024's expected to finish with an estimated 471 overdose deaths, 301 that included fentanyl. In 2021, Milwaukee County saw 644 overdose deaths with 512 containing fentanyl.
DEA agents from 12 states, including Wisconsin, submit their confiscated drugs to the North Central Lab. Last year, they dropped off over 9,100 exhibits.
"This is a sample of M30s. These were suspected oxycodone tablets that actually contained fentanyl," said Leah Law, supervisory chemist at the DEA North Central Lab. "We also have some counterfeit Adderall tablets. So, a real Adderall would have amphetamine. These actually contain methamphetamine."
Dealing with deadly compounds, personal protective gear is a must for the 30 chemists in the lab.
"A lot of times like breathing it in is one thing you want to be concerned about," said Law. "Even getting it on your hands."
According to a DEA report just released, the most significant drug-related threat to Wisconsin comes from two Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
Agents from across the state train together on a regular basis. The challenges with identifying suspects are ever-changing.
"Money is now just being transferred to cryptocurrency or deposited as cryptocurrency and then moved to foreign accounts you know like that. So, what previously had allowed lots of opportunities for law enforcement to intervene in the smuggling and movement of bulk currency, right, the different types of interception…those are now being circumvented by the use of cryptocurrency," McGarry said.
In 2023, the DEA seized 1.9 million fake pills in Wisconsin alone, shockingly that number doubled from 2022.
"Unless you got it legitimately prescribed by a registered physician, nurse practitioner or under the care of somebody in the medical establishment for legitimate purposes, to take any pill from anybody else is a possibly lethal decision," McGarry said.
The DEA reminds everyone that legitimate pharmaceutical pills cannot be bought on social media. The only safe way to get them is through your doctor or pharmacy.