‘It doesn’t surprise me’: Nationwide rise in fentanyl arrests also seen in Grand Strand

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - All it takes for fentanyl to be deadly is two milligrams.

According to Crystal Harper, Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlanta division, a good way to visualize two milligrams is by looking at the tip of a pencil.

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“And these fake pills are being marketed as legitimate prescription pills and people are unknowingly taking this poison, and dying,” she said.

New data from the DEA shows that, for the first time, the number of arrests for fentanyl surpassed the number of arrests for heroin. Throughout 2021, that data shows agents made more than 3,100 fentanyl-related arrests.

”I would say since 2020 we’ve probably had a couple hundred, maybe over 200 arrests, in multiple investigations,” Harper said about about the Atlanta Division.

The DEA only focuses on long-term investigations. Harper said they typically include gangs and the target is usually the gang’s ringleader.

That increase in arrests can also be seen in at least one part of the Grand Strand.

”It doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Officer Pat Wilkinson with the North Myrtle Beach Police Department. “The national opioid crisis is nothing foreign.”

From 2020 to 2023, North Myrtle Beach police saw a 183% increase in drug-related arrests. Because of that rise, Wilkinson said the department started separating fentanyl-related arrests, noting that officers were encountering more fentanyl than ever before.

“Could it be a societal thing, where just more people are consuming drugs? Could be. I don’t have anything for certain on that,” he said.

Like Harper, Wilkinson said he can’t pinpoint one cause. He said while he knows there is more fentanyl in existence, he also knows more officers are patrolling North Myrtle Beach.

“They’re stopping cars, they’re addressing things that look out of place, look suspicious, based off of reasonable suspicion,” said Wilkinson. “So when you have officers who are going out there and being proactive, instead of reactive...waiting for the 911 call. Then you’re going to intercept more of them.”

WMBF News requested data from several other jurisdictions. Surfside Beach saw a 104% increase in the number of drug arrests between 2020 and 2023. The Georgetown Police Department, meanwhile, reported a 38% increase in the same time frame.

Requests for similar records from the Horry County Police Department and Myrtle Beach Police Department went unreturned.

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