CHICAGO – Fentanyl seizures across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin have surged in 2025, according to newly released data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Chicago Field Division.
So far this year, DEA agents have confiscated around 1.6 million fentanyl pills across the three states. The agency even shared a photo of some of the pills on its Instagram page.
According to WGN9, DEA agents have already seized more fentanyl pills in the first part of 2025 than in the previous three years combined. In 2022, agents confiscated 64,800 fentanyl pills. That number jumped to 405,200 in 2023, then to 589,900 in 2024—still far less than what’s been seized so far this year.
And it’s not just fentanyl. WGN9 reports that seizures of other illicit drugs are also climbing. In 2024, agents in the three-state region confiscated 4,777 pounds of cocaine and 1,758 pounds of methamphetamine. As of mid-2025, those numbers have already reached 3,550 pounds of cocaine and 1,201 pounds of meth.
Heroin seizures have seen one of the most dramatic increases—jumping from 28 pounds in 2024 to 229 pounds so far this year. Agents are also finding more fentanyl in non-pill form, with seizures rising from 229 pounds last year to 395 pounds in 2025.
