(NewsNation) — As the Trump administration wages a war against drug cartels in the Caribbean, the war on drugs continues at home.
A major fentanyl bust shut down a large-scale drug ring stretching across New York.
Officials seized enough of the deadly drug to potentially kill every person who lives in Suffolk County, the second-largest county in New York, with more than 1.5 million people.
The district attorney’s office led the operation, assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and local police.
Law enforcement discovered cocaine, heroin, and pressed pills, all part of a network that investigators say they have been tracking for months.
Six people were arrested after allegedly selling to undercover narcotics officers between April and October, coming to an end on Halloween.
Similar operations in Arizona, Alabama, Florida and Texas have also reported multiple multi-state or international trafficking ring busts.
Nationwide, the DEA said it has seized more than 100 million fentanyl pills in the last two years, and fentanyl seizures across all law enforcement agencies have surged more than 1,700% over the past six years.
That spike is why the Trump administration is now waging a parallel war on drugs in the Caribbean, targeting suspected cartel boats and smuggling networks, moving cocaine and synthetic opioids throughout the region.