From 1999 to 2017, almost 218,000 people died from overdoses related to prescription opioids. In 2017 alone, 70,237 people died of drug overdose in the United States—47,600 of those overdose deaths involved opioids. Approximately 130 Americans die every day due to opioid overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC).
In addition, Barr said the ARPO Strike Force is one of the most promising initiatives by the DOJ. In just four month since it started its operation in December, the ARPO Strike Force, which consists of federal agents and 14 prosecutors, already took down 60 defendants who contributed to the opioid epidemic.
On the other hand, FBI Executive Assistant Director Amy Hess, commented, “Today’s takedown demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to working alongside our Strike Force partners including the HHS-OIG and DEA, to fight the opioid epidemic and related criminal activity in the Appalachian region.”
“We will not stand by and allow the harmful and oftentimes deadly practice of over-prescribing highly addictive drugs to continue unchecked. The FBI will pursue medical personnel who misuse their positions of trust to blatantly disregard others’ very lives for their own financial gain,” added Hess.