Representatives from five of Arizona’s 15 Sheriff’s Offices gathered at the David M. Player Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Feb. 21, to talk about drugs and human trafficking coming over the Mexican border, and how that is impacting their communities.

“We’re not a destination community at all whatsoever for the illegal UDAs that are coming across the border, or for the fentanyl. But we do get them through Greenlee County on (U.S. Highway) 70, up on (U.S. Highway) 191, and we’ve had them in the Black Hills,” said Greenlee County Sheriff Tim Sumner.

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said the situation at the border is “the ugliest” he’s ever seen in his more than 30 years serving in law enforcement.

“In 2020, on the Southwest border, there were just under 4 million fentanyl pills seized on the Southwest border. In 2021, there were just under 9 million fentanyl pills seized in the country. In 2022, there were 114 million fentanyl pills seized on the Southwest border,” Dannels said, adding that 68 million of 2022’s total were in Arizona alone.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said his agency is seeing a dangerous new trend — fentanyl being laced with xylazine.

“Fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than morphine and 50 times more powerful than heroin. Xylazine is more powerful than fentanyl. Xylazine is a synthetic opioid, (and) it is impervious to Narcan and Nalaxone,” Lamb said.

Travis Baxley, the Task Force commander for the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, said the only way for rural Arizona to fight increases in human trafficking and drug smuggling is by working together — not just among law enforcement but across all sectors of the community.

“We thank all of our partners; we thank the public, our schools, our civic organizations, everybody. Because we all have to work together to put an end to this,” Baxley said.

Graham County Sheriff PJ Allred said the best thing community members can do is be involved and observant, especially when it comes to children.

“When they’re 18, yeah, they can do as they want, and you can still be mom and dad to them and, hopefully, you’ve got a good relationship. But prior to that 18, you know what’s on their Facebook, you know what’s on their Instagram, you know who their friends are, you know who they’re with. You have read their book of life when they come home every night,” Allred said.

Dannels agreed, saying there must be more policing of social media and the ability to acquire drugs and hire trafficking mules over the internet.

In addition to the presentation by the sheriffs, the lobby of the Player Center was filled with healthcare providers and counseling services, on hand to help families dealing with a member’s substance issues.

The entire talk can be viewed on the Safford High School Bulldog News Network YouTube channel.

The only hiccup to the evening occurred at the end, when a woman attempted to take the stage and speak on the microphone while the sheriffs were presented plaques of appreciation. She was escorted from the facility by Safford Police officers and Graham County Sheriff’s deputies.

The event was organized by the Substance Abuse Coalitions of Graham and Greenlee Counties, with funding from One Arizona Plan through the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.