LA’s new DEA chief says area remains a major fentanyl and meth hub for Mexican cartels

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s new bureau chief in Los Angeles said Tuesday that Mexican drug cartels utilize the metro area as a key distribution hub for narcotics shipped throughout the country.

David Olesky assumed the role of Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Los Angeles Field Division this month. It is his third assignment in the Los Angeles bureau.

Olesky said the lethal narcotic fentanyl remains a top priority for his office.

“Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate, and it demands acting with the sense of urgency the threat demands,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “The better we are doing our job here, the greater impact we have not just on our local communities but those across the nation.

“Here in the Los Angeles Field Division, we are on the front lines of that fight, the cartels utilize the Los Angeles metro area as a key distribution hub for narcotics sent across the country and for the illicit proceeds which make their way back to Mexico,” he continued. “The drug cartels capitalize on our entry points, highways, waterways, and financial institutions. Now, more than ever, DEA will hold true to its mission to protect, prevent, and support.”

Olesky takes over from his predecessor, Anthony Chrysanthis, who has been appointed to a new role at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Goals for the Los Angeles office include addressing threats posed in the district by transnational criminal organizations, Olesky said.

“What we seize and disrupt here — especially fentanyl and methamphetamine — directly impacts overdose deaths and violent crime in communities across the nation,” he said.