Attorney General Josh Stein released the following statement applauding the U.S. Congress for funding U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) so CBP can install equipment it already has to detect fentanyl in vehicles entering the United States.

“Nine North Carolinians a day die from a fentanyl overdose. Nine. I am grateful to Congressional leaders for putting partisan politics aside to invest in these safety measures to stem the deadly flow of fentanyl at our border and help keep these drugs out of our communities. And I’m grateful to President Biden for signing this bill into law. This critical funding will be lifesaving.”

Last week, Attorney General Stein sent a letter asking Congressional leaders to give CBP approximately $300 million in funding to install equipment CBP already has to detect fentanyl in vehicles entering the United States. Congress included the funding in the appropriations bill, which President Biden signed into law on Saturday. CBP will receive more than $400 million to be used for non-intrusive inspection and the detection and seizure of fentanyl and other narcotics. This new technology enables CBP to dramatically increase the number of cars and trucks it x-rays using massive drive-through screeners at the border.

Attorney General Stein has been working to confront the fentanyl epidemic by:

1. Winning $50 billion for treatment, harm reduction and recovery services from the pharmaceutical companies that opened the floodgates to illicit fentanyl
2. Convening the statewide Fentanyl Task Force, which brings local, state and federal law enforcement leaders together to collaborate on keeping this poison out of our communities
3. Asking the legislature to fund a Fentanyl Control Unit so DOJ prosecutors can assist local district attorneys on large-scale fentanyl trafficking, wiretap, and overdose cases
4. Working with Sen. Tom McInnis to enact the Stop Counterfeit Pill Act, which updated North Carolina law to address the growing threat of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, methamphetamine or other dangerous drugs
5. Opening the renovated and more efficient drug chemistry and toxicology sections of the North Carolina State Crime Lab’s Raleigh location. Fentanyl was the No. 2 drug found in evidence tested at the lab in 2022.
6. Leading bipartisan attorney general efforts to urge the federal government to make it easier for health care providers to prescribe opioid treatment medication and increase the availability of treatment for people who are incarcerated