United States Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New Orleans Division, alongside its federal, state, and local partners, today announced historic, verifiable data showing a dramatic decline in fentanyl-related overdose fatalities across the Northshore region of Louisiana. A concentrated two-year effort, known as the "Trifecta" model, has achieved unprecedented results, led by a 70% reduction in fentanyl overdose deaths in St. Tammany Parish.

The "Trifecta" model, a core operational blueprint for DEA’s national Fentanyl Free America campaign, focuses on aggressive transnational disruption, unbreakable operational partnerships, and elevated local accountability.

The data, compiled across a multi-jurisdictional enforcement area, confirms strategic collaboration is shattering the drug trade's grip, greatly exceeding the national trend of a 27% decrease in overdose deaths:

•  St. Tammany Parish: 70% reduction in fentanyl overdose deaths.
•  Washington Parish: 58.5% reduction in fentanyl overdose deaths.
•  Tangipahoa Parish: 45.3% reduction in fentanyl overdose deaths.

“These numbers represent dozens of mothers, fathers, and children who were spared the tragedy that fentanyl causes. This success is not luck; it is the direct result of the 'Trifecta' model. Our top operational priority remains eliminating the Mexican cartels, specifically Sinaloa and CJNG, who are fueling this crisis,” commented DEA Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer. “We are proving here in Louisiana that the Fentanyl Free America mission works when we stand united, ensuring that the entire supply chain, from precursor chemicals in China to the street dealers in our neighborhoods, is aggressively targeted and dismantled.”

The Trifecta Model: Accountability and Justice

The "Trifecta" model stands on three pillars:

1. Transnational Disruption: Focused on breaking the command and control, and illicit finance networks of the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels. In 2025, the DEA New Orleans Division (LA, AL, AR, & MS) seized nearly 1.25 million fentanyl pills (187 kilograms), contributing to the national total of over 45 million fentanyl pills taken out of circulation.

2. Unbreakable Partnerships (The FORT Genesis): The formation of the Fentanyl Overdose Response Team (FORT) tore down jurisdictional walls, combining DEA, Sheriff's Office, and Police Department assets and intelligence for rapid response and investigation.

3. Local Accountability (2nd Degree Homicide Charges): Elevating the consequence for major fentanyl traffickers.

Remembering Jacob and Nicholas

The press conference featured the powerful testimony of two courageous family members, Mr. Platt and Mrs. Massi, who shared the stories of their sons, Nicholas and Jacob, both lost to fentanyl poisoning.

Mrs. Massi, mother of Jacob Massi, delivered a moving statement: "Jacob was not a statistic. He was our son. He had a future, and it was stolen from him. We stand fully behind the DEA and the District Attorney’s office in holding dealers accountable, because we desperately need this work done. We need you to save other families from this unending heartbreak."

The DEA encourages the public to visit dea.gov/fentanylfree for resources and information on how to protect their communities and support those impacted.