RICHMOND, VA — Virginia’s Operation FREE (Fentanyl Awareness, Reduction, Enforcement and Eradication) partnership seized over 550 pounds of fentanyl in the last 45 days.
Operation FREE is a partnership focused on fentanyl recognition, reduction of fentanyl supply/demand, the eradication of fentanyl and the enforcement of Virginia laws related to fentanyl manufacturing, possession and distribution. In addition to the fentanyl, Virginia’s Operation FREE collective efforts have led to the seizure of more than 19,000 pounds of narcotics as well as 1,081 arrests and 267 firearms taken off the street.
In May 2023, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed Executive Order 26 to help combat the fentanyl epidemic in Virginia.
Led by the Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Terrance Cole and the Virginia State Police, Operation FREE focuses on building partnerships, enhancing intelligence sharing, improving operational strategies, and increasing community outreach to thwart the impact that fentanyl is having within the borders of the United States.
According to national data, Operation FREE has seized nearly 5,000 pounds of suspected, illicit, fentanyl. That fentanyl had the potential to generate an estimated $4.3 billion dollars in revenue to transnational criminal organizations and street level criminal gangs.
