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County task force warns fentanyl is now the county’s primary drug threat
Summary
Police briefed the council on the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force’s work, saying seizures and prosecutions have climbed and that fentanyl — often disguised as pills — is the dominant drug threat in 2025. Staff described resource sharing, grant funding, and ongoing federal indictments arising from task‑force investigations.
Police Chief BJ Robinson and task‑force field director Justin Gordon told the council the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force focuses on disrupting organized drug‑trafficking networks and providing surge investigative capacity for major crimes. “Fast forward to the last several years, and it’s now fentanyl,” Robinson said, emphasizing that much of the fentanyl arrives as counterfeit pills and is driven by cartel networks. He added that the task force is grant funded through state CCJJ and a federal HIDTA grant.
Robinson and Gordon said seizures and indictments have increased: “Year to date this year, we’ve had 30 federal indictments just from our investigations,” Robinson said, and stressed the challenges of staying ahead of shifting networks. The presenters described the task force as a multi‑agency effort that rotates officers through specialized assignments for several years, and they thanked Orem for serving as the fiduciary that supports overtime, training, and equipment. Council members asked about interagency cooperation, National Guard counter‑drug analysts assigned to the task force, and the limits of local enforcement when trafficking organizations operate across county lines.
