Atlanta Airport, Georgia Seaports Are Frontlines in War on Fentanyl

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The pain of losing a loved one to drugs is all too real for countless families, like Stasia Screws in Gwinnett County. Her 26-year-old son died after taking a painkiller laced with fentanyl.

“Our family is completely devastated,” Screws said.

Too many stories of loss are motivating law enforcement officials on the front lines of a fight against fentanyl that refuses to end.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents Atlanta News First investigates in their processing facilities, where news cameras have never been before. This is where agents scan and flag suspicious packages from overseas that could contain concealed cargo containing drugs like fentanyl or the devices used to make it.

Last week, officers made a bust involving a pill press, a machine that can produce thousands of pills per hour and may have contained fentanyl.

“We’re not just focused on the drugs, we’re focused on the chemicals, the components including the pill presses and the molds that are used to make the pills that are killing Americans,” said Zachary Thomas, director of field operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, responsible for the Atlanta, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina field office.

Agents at the Port of Savannah are focusing on cargo coming from abroad. “The drug cartels are becoming more aggressive,” said Joe Walkin of Savannah’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit. Those drugs are coming through the Port of Savannah and are being distributed throughout the state, including metro Atlanta.

The federal officials took Atlanta News First investigates They boarded huge cargo ships and targeted specific containers depending on the country of origin.

“We’re finding narcotics and it’s a huge amount, so this isn’t your local drug dealer,” Walkin said. “This is a drug cartel.”

Sometimes, agents find the cartels using duffel bags to stash the drugs in the backs of containers. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that agents seized 19,600 pounds of fentanyl at U.S. ports through August last year, more than ever before.

While fentanyl is a major focus for those officers, it is not the most seized drug. That is marijuana, followed by cocaine.

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