Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday that dozens of federal agents and analysts will form a team to disrupt illicit opioid sales online, an emerging front in the government’s campaign to thwart a deadly epidemic.
“Criminals think that they are safe online because they’re anonymous, but they are in for a rude awakening,” Sessions said to law enforcement officials gathered in Pittsburgh’s federal courthouse. “We have already infiltrated their networks, and we are determined to bring them to justice.”
Sessions said the new team, dubbed Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE), will double the FBI’s effort in fighting online opioid trafficking. A record 64,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2016, Sessions said.
(c) 2018, The Washington Post · Sari Horwitz
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