The effort stems from a 2021 initiative in which Newsom redirected California National Guard resources to support search-and-seizure operations and intelligence-driven enforcement at ports of entry
California National Guard members assigned to border drug-interdiction operations have helped seize more than $506 million worth of illicit fentanyl since 2021, state officials said Thursday.
The figure, announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom, includes 34,357 pounds of fentanyl and more than 50 million potentially lethal pills intercepted before they reached California communities. The street value of the seized drugs is estimated at $506 million.
The effort stems from a 2021 initiative in which Newsom redirected California National Guard resources to support search-and-seizure operations and intelligence-driven enforcement at ports of entry. The state invested $30 million in the expansion, proposed by Newsom and approved in the state budget, to bolster coordination with federal High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programs.
Major General Beevers, adjutant general of the California Military Department, said the dedicated funding acts as a force multiplier, allowing personnel to surge to critical ports of entry and support law enforcement partners.
CalGuard members are embedded in cross-government task forces, using air and ground assets to disrupt fentanyl trafficking networks. The operations are conducted alongside federal partners and focus on stopping transnational criminal organizations at ports of entry.
Newsom described the results as lives saved and communities protected through focused, lawful enforcement. The announcement highlighted the seizures as evidence of the strategy’s impact, though no specific comparison to prior years or other states was provided.
The state has also reported related enforcement outcomes from intensified California Highway Patrol operations statewide, including 11,700 arrests, thousands of stolen vehicles recovered and hundreds of illegal firearms seized.
