DEA seized 443,000 potentially deadly doses of fentanyl from Iowa in 2025

IOWA (KCRG) - In 2025, the DEA seized 12,000 fentanyl pills and 13 pounds of fentanyl powder across Iowa: adding up to 443,000 potentially deadly doses.

This data is from the DEA office in Omaha, Nebraska, which has jurisdiction over Iowa. These statistics do not include information from local and state law enforcement.

Compared to last year, fentanyl powder seizures are at a 500% increase. Special Agent Travis Ocken with the Omaha DEA says this is a cost-cutting effort by the cartels and drug traffickers, as fentanyl powder is cheaper to make and transport.

“They don’t have to take the time to take fentanyl and make it into pill form, it’s going to save on costs for them,” Ocken said. “They’re also trying to attract a broader market as well by diversifying and having both fentanyl pills out there and fentanyl powder.”

He ultimately credits the efforts of the wider federal government.

“As this whole of government approach -- and we go after these cartels in various methods -- not only the DEA, but other government components, are seeing a decrease of fentanyl and other drugs ,” Ocken said.

Ocken says that success is seen in a rise in drug prices.

A recent study in the journal, ‘Science,’ found there’s been a disruption in the supply of illicit fentanyl that could be because China changed what raw materials go into the dangerous drug.

“Those chemicals are being shipped into Mexico where it’s then manufactured in fentanyl and then trafficked into our country,” Ocken said.

Researchers found that’s also why the U-S has seen the sharpest decline in deaths from overdoses in 15 years.