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Task force reports sharp rise in fentanyl units seized in southwest North Dakota
Summary
A regional narcotics task force told Stark County commissioners that fentanyl seizures in the southwest region rose from about 40,916 dosage units last year to 57,708 this year; task force leaders said they are shifting focus to supply-chain investigations with federal partners.
Special Agent Chris Krumm, who leads the Southwest Narcotics Task Force for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, told the Stark County Commission that fentanyl remains an acute problem in the region.
"Last year we seized 40,916 dosage units of fentanyl," Krumm said. "This last year we seized 57,708 dosage units, and that's just in our southwest region of North Dakota." He added that the task force recorded four fatal overdoses and eight hospitalizations locally last year.
Krumm said the task force has shifted toward following supply chains and working with federal partners to pursue traffickers outside the region. "We changed the focus from just targeting local users to trying to combat the people that are bringing this stuff into our communities," he said, describing joint investigations that traced shipments as far as San Diego and Phoenix.
The presentation included a broader rundown of the task force's work: digital forensics, internet-crimes-against-children support, and 76 investigations handled in the task force office last year. Krumm said some drug categories, such as methamphetamine, showed declines in seizures, but fentanyl rose markedly.
Commissioners thanked Krumm for the briefing and did not take any formal action at the meeting; they were urged to continue supporting the task force's federal partnerships and to monitor local overdose trends.
The commission may invite the task force back for updates as cases and seizures evolve.
