(NEXSTAR) -- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) plays an indispensable relation successful the combat against fentanyl. When agents prehend drugs, the grounds gets sent to a DEA laboratory for testing.  The bureau reports much than 70% of illicit drugs seized are laced with fentanyl. 

All drugs seized by national agencies from 5 states are sent to a DEA laboratory successful Dallas, Texas to beryllium tested.

“Our vault processes it and stores it until it's clip for our forensic chemist to analyse it. And our forensic chemists find the contented of the evidence, arsenic good arsenic sometimes the purity of it,” DEA Laboratory Assistant Director Jamie Vasquez said.

Vasquez said the fig 1 cause that they spot is methamphetamine, followed by cocaine, fentanyl and heroin.

 “It has changed drastically implicit the past 5 years. We've gone from submissions of 3% fentanyl to present adjacent to 20% of what we spot contains immoderate benignant of fentanyl,” Vasquez said.

The DEA acts arsenic the archetypal enactment of defence against drugs coming crossed the border.

“The cardinal fig is 70%. You person to cognize that 70% of these pills close present could kill, it could beryllium an overdose,” Special DEA Agent Daniel Comeaux said. "It's each astir money. It’s astir the dollar bill. It’s astir greed. And that's who we are going after."

Comeaux, who is with the DEA’s Houston Division, said cause cartels are wide producing synthetic fentanyl with deadly precision.

“So, you mightiness person adjacent idiosyncratic arsenic young arsenic a mediate schooler saying, good I heard astir the Xanax. So fto maine instrumentality the Xanax 1 clip conscionable to get a precocious effect. And they instrumentality 1 of these fake pills, and they extremity up dead. 70% of these pills incorporate a lethal dose," Comeaux said.

Last year's laboratory results amusement the DEA seized 521,000 fentanyl tablets.

“Look, we're aggressively targeting them. We're doing it successful truthful galore antithetic ways now. We're going connected websites. We're going connected societal media. We're going connected each of these apps. Wherever they are, we are excessively now,” Comeaux said.

He urged parents to speech to their kids astir the dangers of fentanyl.

"Because it's not necessarily, say, a cause trader that volition propulsion this pill connected it. It could beryllium their champion friend. It could beryllium their peer. And if you don't person those benignant of conversations with your kids, they mightiness deliberation thing of it,” Comeaux said.