OAN Staff Bailey Broadwater
6:00 PM – Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel has touted his agency’s efforts to crack down on illegal drug flow in the United States.
On Wednesday, Patel revealed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that nearly 5,000 pounds of fentanyl were taken off American streets in 2025.
“We seized enough fentanyl in 2025 to kill 178 million Americans. That’s a 31% increase year over year. And here’s a statistic that everybody should be proud of. Opioid overdose deaths from last year dropped 20 points,” Patel explained.
Patel highlighted the work done specifically in Oklahoma to make the Sooner State’s streets safer.
Patel said none of this would have been possible without the cooperation of local and state law enforcement, which he says was a main priority of his.
“We can’t do that unless we have great police partnerships, which has been a priority of mine, which is why they’ve embedded police officers here at headquarters from around the country to make sure we have that connectivity, and I’ve shortened the task force officer onboarding pipeline from one-to-two years to 90 days,” Patel said.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!
Sponsored Content Below
