WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Andy Ogles (TN-05) made the following remarks during the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on National Security hearing today:
“Overdose deaths in Tennessee have increased 200% In the last five years, most of those involving fentanyl. Referring to the statement from Williamson County Sheriff's Department of Narcotics Officer Fann:
Just March 6th of this year, a student at a local high school crushed up and took what they thought was Roxicodone, also known as an “M 30”, or a “Blue.” As it turns out, it was a counterfeit fentanyl tablet. From February 7th of this year to March 2nd, Narcotics Division found 26 different narcotics operations and in all 26 cases the drugs tested positive for fentanyl substances. So, as we go forward, the Chinese Communist Party is destroying American communities.
Every small town in America is now a border town. They're inviting societal breakdown and tearing apart families. They're doing this intentionally with the help of the Biden Administration that can't bring itself to realize that our border is not secure. Anecdotally, this past month roughly 300,000 illegals crossed into our country.
Let's look at the numbers from this fiscal year: 2,300 pounds of fentanyl were seized by the CPB last month at the southwest border, which represents a 238% increase from February of 2022. If fentanyl seizures continue at their current rate, this fiscal year we will see the seizure of 26,400 pounds of fentanyl at the border. A figure that almost doubles the amount of fentanyl seized last year.
The high demand for opioids in this country is being fueled by cartel access to our ports and our porous and open border. Our failure to secure our own sovereignty is creating a financial incentive for the Chinese Communist Party to kill Americans.
When you look at the CCP, how they literally are profiting from the fentanyl precursors and the marketing thereof, just like the Cali Cartel. If the CCP wasn't a state actor, would they be designated as a threat to our country?”
To view the full Williamson County Sheriff’s Department report by Sergeant Brad Fann, click here.
To watch Congressman Ogles’ remarks, click here.
To watch the hearing in its entirety, click here.
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://ogles.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-ogles-demands-answers-regarding-ccp-fentanyl-and-money-laundering