As the state sees a sharp increase in deaths from fentanyl overdose, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office has enhanced its efforts to slow the county’s drug flow.

A Utah Department of Health and Human Services study published Jan. 16 found that drug overdose death rates saw little improvement in the past decade, then jumped to a record-high 606 fatalities in 2023.

Fentanyl was primarily to blame, the study said, as the synthetic opioid drug caused a 1,160.9% increase in deaths from 2014 to 2023, surpassing methamphetamine as the state’s deadliest drug.

To better wage the war against drugs locally, Utah County Sheriff’s Office administrators met with members of the Department of Homeland Security last September and formed the Drug Interdiction Team.

Still in its early stages, the team began its efforts Jan. 25 and currently is made up of officers who work their regular assignments then set aside extra time to go out to the streets to search for drugs, according to Utah County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Sgt. Raymond Ormond.

With the financial support from Homeland Security, though, these efforts are expected to expand.

“The end goal of the team is a task force that is similar to the Major Crimes Task Force,” Ormond said in an email. “The Utah County Sheriff’s Office would be in charge of the team and work with agencies in Utah County to try and take on the flow of drugs coming into the county on our roadways.”

According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services study, Utah County has had significantly lower rates of drug overdose deaths compared to the rest of the state but still saw 202 overdose deaths between 2021 and 2023.

Ormond said it’s difficult to track specific improvement on combating drug flow, in part because they don’t know the overall amount of drugs coming into the county.

But the sheriff’s office has several established avenues for slow drug trafficking.

“Our agency runs the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force which works with various federal, state and local agencies on combating the flow of drugs through undercover operations and investigations,” Ormond said.

Additionally, the department has three special-information detectives working on Utah County drug-related investigations and two patrol teams consisting of one sergeant and four deputies that focus on “recreation areas” of the county but assist with DUI-related enforcement, Ormond added.

The Drug Interdiction Team will add to the efforts. The team had a victory on its first day of operation Jan. 25 when it seized nearly 16,000 fentanyl pills.

“The Utah County Sheriff’s Office commends the efforts of the new Drug Interdiction Team and remains committed to protecting our communities by enforcing drug laws and keeping dangerous substances off our streets,” a press release announcing the bust stated.

The fight against fentanyl has reached the public conscience within the past year, both on a state and national level.

Gov. Spencer Cox announced a new task force in October to combat the fentanyl crisis, which is overseen by the Department of Public Safety.

It’s too early to determine the efficacy of the new state task force, according to a DPS spokesperson, who said members for it were just added at the end of 2024.

President Donald Trump also made combating fentanyl a priority when he took office in January. He threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, aimed in part to combat the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

Those tariffs are now temporarily on hold after Mexico agreed to station 10,000 troops near the U.S. southern border while Canada pledged to take steps to secure the northern border.

Ormond said Utah County has always had federal support combating drug flow — regardless of the administration in office — but acknowledged the importance of securing the border with Mexico.

“Securing the southern border is a huge step in the right direction to stem the flow of drugs onto Utah County streets,” he said. “Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and other drugs are not typically made in the United States but smuggled across our borders. I have been part of cases where drugs that had been smuggled across the border ended up in Utah County.”

Ormond added that law enforcement has seen that fentanyl can be particularly potent because it often is combined with other drugs. He warns that every area and demographic in the county is at risk of drug abuse, and advises citizens to completely avoid them.

“I have been in Law Enforcement for 20 years and have seen people from all walks of life that have been hurt by illicit drug use,” Ormond said. “I’ve been in everything from multi-million dollar homes to low income housing and found drugs of all kinds. There’s a lot of catch phrases out there concerning drug use but ‘Just say NO,’ and ‘Not even once,’ are my two favorites.”