Attorney General Knudsen announces sharp decline in fentanyl seizures

HELENA – Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today fentanyl and most other dangerous drug seizures in Montana decreased in 2025.

Most notably, last year, fentanyl seizures decreased 70 percent from 2024 and nearly 80 percent from 2023 when there was an all-time high of fentanyl seizures in the state. Cocaine, heroin, and marijuana seizures also decreased last year, while methamphetamine seizures stayed the same.

“I am happy to report there was a huge drop in fentanyl seizures in Montana last year. It’s not a coincidence this news comes as President Trump is back in office and committed to securing the southern border,” Attorney General Knudsen said.  “While this is welcomed news, at the Montana Department of Justice, we’re not slowing down our efforts to get illicit drugs out of our communities. There are still far too many overdoses, and worse, fatal overdoses because of this poison that was allowed to flow across the Mexico border unfettered for years by the Biden administration.”

In 2025, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) task forces seized a total of 83,382 dosage units of fentanyl in Montana – compared to 275,091 dosage units in 2024. The last year authorities seized less than 100,000 dosage units of fentanyl was in 2021 when 60,557 units were seized.  According to RMHIDTA data, cocaine seizures decreased 51 percent (68.04 to 33.3 pounds) last year compared to the year before; heroin seizures decreased 94 percent (12.77 to .82 pounds); and methamphetamine seizures remained the same (304.03 to 304.01 pounds).

These quantities are from the six RMHIDTA Montana task forces, which includes the Montana Department of Justice’s Narcotics Bureau agents and Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) Criminal Interdiction Teams, which are overseen by Attorney General Knudsen, and are not all-inclusive of drugs seized by all law enforcement in the state but help to provide statewide trends.

While fentanyl seizures decreased, fentanyl-linked deaths increased 34 percent in 2025. According to the State Crime Lab, there were 74 fentanyl-linked fatal overdoses in Montana compared to 55 in 2024. Polysubstance fatal overdoses are also on the rise. In 78 percent of last year’s fatal overdoses, fentanyl was mixed with another illegal drug, like methamphetamine compared to 60 percent in 2024. These numbers do not reflect the entire statewide total, as the crime lab only verifies deaths that involve an autopsy.

The Montana Highway Patrol (MHP), which reports the Criminal Interdiction Team’s seizures seizures to HIDTA, saw a 96 percent decrease in the amount of fentanyl seized in 2025 (109,463 to 4,511 dosage units). There was also a 28 percent decrease in the amount of meth seized by MHP in 2025 (140.24 to 100.75 pounds); MHP cocaine seizures increased by 21 percent (18.45 to 22.27 pounds).

Attorney General Knudsen has made it a priority of his administration to combat the opioid crisis in Montana. This year he launched the “Drug-Free Montana Tour” to encourage Montana students to make good choices and say “no” to drugs, while highlighting the impact of substance abuse. During the 2025 legislative session, he supported Senate Bill 261, which allows prosecutors to charge adults with endangering the welfare of a child if fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and other dangerous drugs are found in their possession while a child is present. He also sent a letter to the Trump administration urging them to close a drug trafficking loophole that allowed drug traffickers to flood deadly fentanyl into the country.

During the Biden administration, he urged Biden to secure the southern border by calling on the administration to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations and classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. He also filed multiple lawsuits against the Biden administration aimed to secure the border with Mexico and stop the influx of drugs into the United States.