CHP Announces Massive Seizure Of Fentanyl From Tenderloin District in SF Since May

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that the CHP has seized more than 40 pounds of fentanyl in the approximately 10-block radius of San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood since the CHP first began an increased patrol there in May.

For decades, San Francisco’s Tenderloin District has been one of the city’s main hubs for crime and drug usage. In recent years, the district’s negative profile has only been exacerbated by large increases of drug-related deaths, homeless issues, more cases of fentanyl overdoses, and other surrounding problems as well. The city, under Mayor London Breed, pushed more resources into improving the area, but with only mixed results.

With local efforts failing, Governor Newsom directed the CHP to help out in the district in April, with CHP operations there beginning on May 1st. According to the agreement, the CHP and CalGuard started working with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (SFDA) to assist the city in its ongoing efforts to address the fentanyl crisis. All four also became part of a new operation charged with dismantling the trafficking of fentanyl and disrupting the supply of fentanyl by directly holding drug trafficking groups responsible. In addition, the CHP began working with the SFPD in fentanyl enforcement in areas with a high number of drug crimes, most notably in the Tenderloin District, as well as giving technical assistance and training.

In the following 8 months, while the CHP stepped up their efforts, San Francisco saw record highs of fentanyl related deaths. While numbers did dip during the street-cleaning operation for the APEC Conference last month, cases came flooding back following the end of the conference. Now, almost 8 months later, the CHP and Newsom finally released the long awaited data on their efforts.

According to the CHP, a total of 40 pounds of fentanyl, which equates to over 9 million lethal doses of the drug, was seized during this time. In addition, the CHP has issued more than 4,468 citations leading to 428 arrests for illegal activity and recovered more than a dozen crime-linked guns as part of its operation in San Francisco.

Those figures were praised by both Governor Newsom and the CHP on Friday. In a statement, Governor Newsom said, “We’re cleaning up San Francisco’s streets. Working alongside our local and federal partners, the CHP is seizing more drugs and more illegal guns and providing the safety and security every Californian deserves.”

Earlier this week, London Breed gave some initial figures of the CHP efforts and added, “We are bringing together local, state, and federal law enforcement to coordinate and hold those breaking the law in our city accountable. We want people who need support to get help and we will continue to offer people second chances, but San Francisco can’t be a place where anything goes and allow harmful behaviors to become the norm. These first six months are just the start of the work we know we need to continue.”

CHP crackdown in the Tenderloin

While even detractors of Newsom and Breed agreed on Friday that the arrests and seizures were a good thing, security experts noted that the city needs to further increase efforts made against those involved with drugs and crime in the city, especially those related to fentanyl distribution.

“Credit where credit is due,” Juan Griffin, a former law enforcement official who is now an advisor on narcotics related crimes, told the Globe Friday. “This is definitely the increase in arrests and seizures that the city has needed for, frankly, too long. But this shouldn’t be viewed as the end result. This should just be seen as a good start.”

“Cracking down on fentanyl has been a nightmare, because of how easily it has been distributed. Also, many are turning to smuggling, even through package services, to bring in extra money. So a better economy would definitely help. But a combination of more police, dedicated people on drug distribution, and stiffer penalties has been shown to ease the curve not only in cities in California, but across the country.”

“Awareness needs to go up as well, like showing the public the negative effects of fentanyl usage. It worked with tobacco, but there it was a very slow process and only after decades of awareness and ads and reaching to younger people that we saw such a change.”

“To reiterate, this CHP action was a good start. 40 pounds doesn’t sound like much, but those seizures saved lives. And all those arrests, in arrest avoidant California, are big too. Again, we need to not only keep up, but step up this effort. Aim for more being seized. If the CHP also wants to put a further dent into this, they should give an estimated number of lives saved by these actions. You can roughly figure that out through the amount seized. Saved lives always hits home with people, and it would be a positive step for law enforcement to show just what their actions meant to the city.”

“San Francisco is by no means in a turnaround today, but it is a bright spot. No wonder Newsom wanted to announce right before Christmas.”

More on fentanyl and other drug-related arrests are expected to be announced early next year.