Las Vegas Valley law enforcement leaders said they are encouraged by a drop in fatal overdose deaths in Southern Nevada over the last 20 months.

Brandon Lesky, assistant special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Las Vegas, said the biggest challenge in combating fatal overdose deaths in Southern Nevada continues to be fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficked from Mexico into the United States, primarily by the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.

“There are three main routes that we’ve identified that they are bringing it up through via passenger and commercial vehicles — it is the main way they are smuggling it over,” Lesky said. “We will see it coming up from Southern California on I-15. We will also see it from Central California on I-80, and it is not as common, but we still do see it coming up from Arizona.”

He said the DEA in Las Vegas has been monitoring the number of fatal overdose deaths in Clark County. Through the first six months of 2026, there were 242 fentanyl-related deaths, which is down by nearly 200 fatalities compared with the same time frame in 2025, Lesky said.

Still, he said preventing overdose deaths — and the trafficking of methamphetamine and fentanyl — remains a priority for Las Vegas Valley.

“Too many. Way too many,” Lesky said of the fatalities. “Something that’s specific to Las Vegas that we see is that there are a lot of folks who come into town, of course it is Sin City, and maybe their inhibitions go down. A lot of times these tourists, they are not specifically seeking out fentanyl or they are even trying to avoid it. They are seeking to do other drugs, cocaine, heroin, and they don’t realize that fentanyl has been mixed in it.

“With fentanyl being so strong, if you are not a regular drug user, it can have really harmful effects, so we do see a lot of overdoses in that type of population,” Lesky said.

He attributes the decline in deaths in the valley to increased awareness, the extensive distribution of products such as Narcan throughout the Las Vegas Valley, and the continual arrests of traffickers and dealers. The DEA has also embarked on a nationwide awareness campaign called Fentanyl Free America to help combat the opioid crisis.

“We’ve also seen the purity of both the pills and powder (for fentanyl) go down,” Lesky said. “In 2023 the purity in pills we were seeing — in 76 percent of the pills there was at least 2 milligrams of fentanyl, and 2 milligrams is enough to be a potentially deadly dose. We are now seeing that in 29 percent of the pills.

“A pretty drastic decline,” he said. “We can attribute that to supplying pressure to these cartels. Putting in additional regulations. Educating the public. Working together with our partners locally, nationwide.”

Lesky said methamphetamine remains a scourge in both Las Vegas and the nation and contributes regularly to drug fatalities in Las Vegas.

“Meth can get left out of the conversation when we talk about drug overdoses,” he said. “It is actually the No. 1 drug in Washoe County that we are seeing in overdoses.”

Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Michelle Tavarez, who oversees the narcotics section, said the department has multiple teams that participate on task forces, address street-level violence related to drugs, and focus on overdose responses with the goal of investigating and finding dealers so they can be held accountable.

She said overdose deaths can be considered homicides that sometimes lead to murder charges against distributors. She said that responses to overdose deaths are down about 9 percent in 2026 but drug-related murder charges are on the rise.

“Narcotics has a nexus to every other crime,” she said.

She said the community and individual citizens play important roles in law enforcement’s ability to arrest and prosecute those who distribute deadly drugs.

“I know it sounds cliche, but if you see something, say something,” she said. “A lot of our narcotics investigations are triggered by reports from the community.”

A lot of times people are fearful to report drug activity for fear of retribution, but tips can be given anonymously via the Crimestoppers tip line at 702-385-5555.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.