OKLAHOMA CITY (April 2, 2025) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking the Trump Administration to close a loophole that allows deadly fentanyl to flood into the United States.
In a letter sent Monday to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Pete Flores, Drummond and a coalition of 23 other state attorneys general called for greater scrutiny of an import pilot program called Entry Type 86, which allows small packages to enter the country with minimal customs screening.
“Fentanyl is as lethal as it is prevalent, and it is threatening the safety of Oklahomans all across our state,” Drummond said. “Foreign adversaries and drug traffickers are exploiting the Entry Type 86 program to bring fentanyl and other poisons into the U.S. We need to take immediate action to stop them.”
According to the state Department of Health, Oklahoma has seen 1,174 unintentional fentanyl overdose deaths. Numbers from 2024 are expected to increase as data is finalized.
In just a 10-year period, imports under the Entry Type 86 program skyrocketed from 153 million packages in 2015 to more than 1.2 billion in 2024. Any surge of this magnitude requires further study because of serious concerns about the amount of fentanyl and other deadly drugs that could be coming into the country.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid narcotic up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl – smaller than the tip of a pencil – can be lethal.
In addition, some shippers use the Entry Type 86 program to dodge regulations and avoid paying required duties, raising concerns about security risks, illegal trade and weaknesses in the supply chain.
Also signing the letter are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
