Tag: fentanyl

Honduran Nationals Accused of Running Fentanyl Trafficking Rings in Major U.S. Cities

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Fentanyl

Honduran nationals are running fentanyl trafficking rings in cities across the western part of the U.S., according to Willamette Week.

Law enforcement agencies have been investigating a cartel using “Honduran nationals to distribute bulk amounts of fentanyl…in the western United States,” according to Willamette Week, citing a criminal complaint filed Dec. 12 in U.S. District Court in Portland. The trafficking operations have been identified in Portland, Seattle, Oakland, Denver and Salt Lake City.

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Chinese Drug Dealers Use Risqué Ads to Sell Narcotics, Fentanyl Ingredients on U.S. Social Media

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Accounts claiming to represent Chinese drug manufacturers are using provocative images of women to advertise narcotics and fentanyl precursors on U.S. social media, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of hundreds of English and Chinese-language social media posts.

The DCNF identified several dozen LinkedIn accounts claiming to be saleswomen representing China-based manufacturers primarily located near Beijing or Wuhan. The accounts often featured images of women and teenage girls in advertisements for a wide variety of controlled substances including 4-piperidone, which is used to manufacture fentanyl.

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San Francisco Facing Deadliest Year Ever for Overdoses

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The far-left city of San Francisco is set to have its deadliest year on record in terms of drug overdoses, further emphasizing the coastal city’s struggles with rising crime, homelessness, and drug abuse.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the California city recorded 692 accidental overdose deaths from January to October of 2023, as reported by the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner last month. By the end of the year, that total is expected to top 800, surpassing the previous record of 720 deaths in 2020.

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China is Running an Operation to Get Americans Hooked on Illegal Drugs, Former DEA Boss Warns

Just the News
Fentanyl

Police operations from California to Maine have busted Chinese nationals operating illegal marijuana growing sites. U.S. officials have clear evidence China is providing Mexican drug cartels the precursor chemicals to make the fentanyl flowing into America. The Drug Enforcement Administration has substantial evidence dating back a decade of Beijing’s role in flooding U.S. cities with a wide range of addictive and harmful drugs.

Experts say there is growing evidence that communist China has launched concerted operations to hook Americans on drugs as part of a larger effort to supplant the United States as the world’s No. 1 superpower. Adding to the problem, the insecure border of the Biden era has only accelerated operations that have killed tens of thousands of Americans from fentanyl poisoning alone. The National Center for Health Statistics reported that drug overdose death rates involving fentanyl increased by 279% from 5.7 per 100,000 in 2016 to 21.6 in 2021.

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Governor Hints GOP Will Revive Democrat-Thwarted Legislation, Target Fentanyl Dealers with Murder Charges

Tom Pappert

Governor Glenn Youngkin indicated to local media on Friday that Virginia Republicans will reintroduce a bill to charge fentanyl dealers and distributors with murder if their drugs result in a lethal overdose. Virginia Democrats successfully defeated the legislation in February.

Youngkin told 7 News on Friday, “if you’re a drug dealer and you do drugs and someone dies, you should be charged with felony homicide.” He stressed to the outlet, “[w]e cannot coddle drug dealers.”

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Commentary: Fentanyl Letters Show How Partisan Journalists Operate

Admin

The true danger to American democracy comes from the radical left. Just don’t expect to hear it from the mainstream media.

On Nov. 9, Americans learned that law enforcement intercepted a handful of fentanyl-laced letters intended for election offices across at least five states, including Georgia’s Fulton County. While alarming, fentanyl isn’t like anthrax – briefly touching it isn’t deadly. But ingesting it is – just ask the families of the 74,000 Americans who died from fentanyl in 2022 alone, much of it produced in China and smuggled in through President Biden’s wide-open southern border.

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Police Seize 50,000 Fentanyl Pills, Charge Two Arizona Men with Trafficking Drugs to Pennsylvania

Tom Pappert

Police in Pennsylvania seized 50,000 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription opioids and arrested two Arizona men who they said were trafficking the narcotics in a cross-country trek on Friday.

The arrests of Arizona men Leroy Williams and Ryan Hofer were confirmed by Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (D) in a statement that confirmed a joint effort from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), her office, and Pennsylvania State Police.

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Lawmakers: Ohio Fentanyl Bust Shows Need for New Law

The Center Square

Ohio lawmakers pushing to increase penalties for fentanyl trafficking point to a recent drug seizure as proof new laws are needed.

House Bill 230, which has had three committee meetings since being introduced earlier this month, would increase trafficking charges for cocaine, fentanyl-related compounds, heroin and methamphetamine. It would also raise the charges for human trafficking to a first-degree felony and expand the definition of human trafficking.

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Feds Seize $480,000 Worth of Drugs in Arizona

The Center Square

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized significant amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl at the border in Arizona on Thursday.

The law enforcement agency seized 71 pounds of meth and 63.3 pounds of fentanyl. According to a news release, the meth has a $63,796 value and the fentanyl is valued at $416,150. In total, this was nearly $480,000 in terms of “street value” taken into possession by CBP.

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Minnesota Sheriff Announces New Initiative amid 378 Percent Increase in Opioid Deaths

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Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt announced a new “Focus on Fentanyl” initiative Thursday aimed at increasing the public’s awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and connecting them with resources.

Witt, who said her own family has been impacted by the fentanyl crisis, plans to release a series of videos profiling Minnesotans who were killed by the highly potent synthetic opioid. The first video chronicles the life of Seth Carlson, a 17-year-old athlete from Bloomington who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022.

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Tennessee Touts Fentanyl Test Strip Success on International Overdose Awareness Day

Peter D'Abrosca

As part of Thursday’s International Overdose Awareness Day, the Tennessee Department Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) touted the success of fentanyl test strips, which are meant to reduce overdoses involving the deadly drug. 

“With new legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in the spring 2022 session, TDMHSAS has been distributing fentanyl test strips for the past year to great success,” the department said. “The department distributed 125,000 test strips in the first year, and data collected from participants shows outcomes that surpass prior studies.”

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Researchers Warn About Synthetic Opioids More Powerful than Fentanyl

The Center Square

Synthetic opioids estimated to be 10 times more potent than fentanyl are creeping into the illicit drug market in the U.S., according to new research. 

“Synthetic opioids, such as the fentanyl analog and nitazene drug class, are among the fastest growing types of opioids being detected in patients in the emergency department with illicit opioid overdose,” researchers warned in a paper published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open.

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Poll: Nine in 10 Americans Worried About Fentanyl Overdose Deaths

The Center Square
Fentanyl

Nearly 90% of U.S. voters are concerned about fentanyl trafficking as drug overdose deaths continue to mount in the U.S. ahead of the 2024 election, according to a new poll. 

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, found that 57% of those surveyed are very concerned about fentanyl overdose deaths. An additional 32% are somewhat worried, or 89% overall indicating some level of concern.

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Authorities Seize Nearly 100,000 Fentanyl Pills, Enough Powder to Kill More than 5 Million People in Two Arizona Busts

Tom Pappert

Federal and local authorities in the Phoenix area have seized nearly 100,000 fentanyl pills and more than 20 pounds of fentanyl powder in just two law enforcement actions. This quantity of the Schedule II drug could potentially cause more than 5 million fatal overdoses.

On August 10, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working with local Arizona police, reportedly apprehended three men attempting to sell 50,000 fentanyl pills in the Phoenix area, according to Border Report. Only days later, on August 17, Gila County law enforcement reported seizing 49,500 fentanyl pills and 22.88 pounds of fentanyl powder during a traffic stop in Payson on the previous day. Payson is about 90 minutes away of Phoenix.

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Wisconsin Congressman Bryan Steil Hosts Roundtable on Combatting the Scourge of Fentanyl

M.D. Kittle

As the scourge of fentanyl continues to rack up victims across the nation, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) was joined on Thursday by local and national law enforcement officials in Milwaukee County for a roundtable discussion on combatting the deadly drug.

The event, held in the suburban Milwaukee community of Franklin, included officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and North Central High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA),  state legislative leaders, and medical experts.

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Phoenix Public Libraries to Provide Naloxone Kits to Combat Opioid Overdoses

The Center Square

All Phoenix public libraries will have free Naloxone kits available as part of a city-wide program to help decrease fentanyl and opioid overdoses. 

Naloxone, branded as Narcan, is a fast-acting medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. In 2022, 991 people died of an overdose in Phoenix, accounting for more than half of all overdose deaths in Maricopa County, according to an Aug. 14 news release. 

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More Restaurants, Bars Stock Up on Fentanyl, Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug as Deaths Soar

Admin

An increasing number of restaurants and bars across the country are keeping a stock of Naloxone, an antidote to fentanyl and opioid overdoses, according to The New York Times.

Local officials and nonprofit organizations are ramping up efforts to more bars and restaurants as overdoses become all too common in public spaces, according to the NYT. Between February 2022 and February 2023, there were more than 105,000 reported drug overdoses in the U.S., according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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GOP Presidential Candidate Tim Scott Talks Border, Biden, and Barbecue with Governor Kim Reynolds at Iowa State Fair

M.D. Kittle

Rising in the Hawkeye State polls, U.S. Senator Tim Scott did the Iowa State Fair Tuesday, rediscovering the sweet joys of funnel cake and sitting down with Governor Kim Reynolds for a “Fair-Side Chat.”

The top tier contestant for the Republican Party presidential nomination and proud South Carolinian also made a confession that could cause him some heartburn in the Palmetto State.

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Pennsylvania Hospitals May Soon Test for Fentanyl

The Center Square

Pennsylvania hospitals may soon test urine samples for fentanyl and xylazine, two of the most common additives found in heroin.

The state government legalized fentanyl test strips for personal use last year, following a number of other states responding to more overdose deaths in the last decade. More than 5,200 Pennsylvanians have died from an overdose death in the last year, according to CDC data.

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Georgia Senator Introduces Bill Targeting Fentanyl Trafficking

The Center Square

A U.S. senator from Georgia is introducing legislation to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, announced the Fentanyl Trafficking Prevention Act, which could slap social media companies with criminal penalties of up to $10 million for facilitating the illicit distribution or dispensing of cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids and synthetic opioids. According to a news release from Ossoff’s office, these actions already run afoul of service providers’ terms of service.

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Biden Admin to Form Global Coalition Against Fentanyl Without China

Admin

The Biden administration is set to form a global coalition of countries to target fentanyl trafficking, but it doesn’t appear that China, a major source of the synthetic drug, will participate.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to host a meeting Friday with representatives from 84 countries to discuss efforts to disrupt the global supply chains of illicit fentanyl, the State Department said Thursday. However, there’s no indication China intends to participate despite the country being the source of precursor chemicals used by the cartels in Mexico to make the synthetic drug.

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Florida Law Enforcement Shuts Down Fentanyl, Xylazine Trafficking Ring

The Center Square

Florida law enforcement officers and Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution have shut down a trafficking ring in the Orlando area. The group is responsible for pushing large quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl laced with xylazine, into the area.

Moody’s prosecution team is scheduled to prosecute 12 people on drug trafficking charges who are accused of trafficking cocaine, fentanyl, xylazine and amphetamine in the Orlando area.

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Pennsylvania Committee Passes Pro-Marijuana Resolution, Calls for New Federal Law

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday passed a resolution calling on the federal government to remove marijuana from the top section of its controlled-substances list. 

Called House Resolution 420 — an allusion to 4/20, a day of celebration for many pot smokers — the measure sponsored by state Representative Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) asks federal officials to move cannabinoid products off of Schedule I. The topmost of five illicit drug categories, Schedule I includes substances the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) characterizes as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” 

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Arizonan Sentenced After Being Caught Attempting to Deal Fentanyl

Neil Jones

Steve Lugo Leon, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to intending to distribute an illicit substance containing fentanyl, according to a Thursday release from the Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District).

The incident occurred back in 2021 at the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe. Leon had arranged to sell fentanyl pills and methamphetamine with a client, but when police showed up, the dealer attempted to flee in his vehicle. He also had an accomplice in the car, Rafael Ivan Valenzuela Chairez, 20, of Phoenix; however, in the ensuing chase, Leon hit another vehicle, causing his truck to flip on its side. Chairez attempted to flee on foot, but both dealers were apprehended by police. Officers then found 946 grams of fentanyl, around 9,000 pills, and 12.83 kilograms of methamphetamine.

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Commentary: The FDA Must Partner with State AGs to Crack Down on Illegal Vapes and Keep Kids Safe

Admin

Millions of kids and teens in America are falling victim to an insidious campaign to get them hooked on illegal, disposable vapes that are made in China and intentionally marketed in youth-enticing flavors.

After years of inaction, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally said it will make compliance and enforcement against these products a priority. FDA’s decision to start taking action to stop the rising tide of illegal disposable vapes in youth-enticing flavors that are flooding our country from China is an important step forward but letters won’t be enough to get these products off our shelves.

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Hundreds Show Up for Kari Lake Rally with Former ICE Director Tom Homan Addressing Border Security

Rachel Alexander

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Hundreds showed up for a rally in Scottsdale with Kari Lake and former acting ICE Director Tom Homan Wednesday evening. The event focused on the problems related to Arizona’s border with Mexico, the surge in illegal immigrants under the Biden administration, the increase in crime, including rapes and sexual assaults, and the fentanyl crisis.

Lake began her speech, “What happens on the border, doesn’t stay on the border. It goes to all 50 states. This isn’t Vegas.”

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Arizona Border Drug Operations Seize over a Ton of Fentanyl in Two Months

Neil Jones

The Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District) announced Wednesday the results of a multi-agency collaboration under Operations Blue Lotus and Four Horsemen that has resulted in “more than a ton of fentanyl” being confiscated along Arizona’s border between March 6th and May 8th.

“Thanks to the efforts of our partners at the Department of Homeland Security, we prevented substantial amounts of fentanyl and other drugs from reaching Arizona neighborhoods,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino.

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Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Warns Parents to Remain Aware of Fentanyl Use as Cases Continue to Rise

Neil Jones

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) released a statement Monday pleading that parents remain vigilant for fentanyl use.

“I’ve spoken one-on-one with parents who have lost their kids to this poison. It is gut-wrenching to hear them talk about having a conversation with a child one evening, only to find that child gone the next morning,” said Mitchell. “We will keep prosecuting these cases and continue to get this information in front of parents and the public.”

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Pennsylvania State Senator Introduces Ban on Kratom Sales to Minors

Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania state legislator is spearheading a bill to more stringently regulate the sale of the painkiller kratom.

The Kratom Consumer Protection Act, sponsored by state Senator Tracy Pennycuick (R-Red Hill), would ban the substance’s purveyance to anyone aged 21 or younger. The legislation would also limit the product’s potency, bar its combination with controlled chemicals and require its display of “adequate labeling directions for… safe and effective use….” 

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Pennsylvania Senate Panel Passes Ban on Supervised Injection Sites

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday passed legislation banning supervised injection sites anywhere in the Keystone State. 

Under the bill sponsored by Senator Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), no locality in Pennsylvania could permit the operation of a center wherein people could take illegal substances without risking prosecution. Such locations which are also called “safe injection sites,” “safe consumption spaces” or “overdose prevention sites” aim to avert opioid overdoses and drug-related disease transmission. Opponents like Tartaglione say the sites more effectively worsen opioid addiction and the carnage it creates. 

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Arizona District Attorney’s Office Charges Almost 2,000 Illegal Immigrants with Illegal Entry During First Three Months of 2023

Neil Jones

The Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) released the first quarter of 2023 immigration enforcement statistics for individuals prosecuted in partnership with the Tucson and Yuma Sectors of Border Patrol.

“Reducing migrant smuggling and mitigating the risk to communities impacted by these offenses continues to be a priority for the Office and its law enforcement partners. Some of these prosecutions are directed against leaders and coordinators of alien smuggling organizations. Other prosecutions are aimed at deterring young adult drivers, often recruited over social media platforms, from engaging in this dangerous activity,” the District shared.

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Arizona Reinstates Drug Overdose Fatality Review Team

Neil Jones

Arizona State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) announced Thursday that his bill, HB 2194, to reinstate the Drug Overdose Fatality Review Team (DOFRT) had received Gov. Katie Hobbs’s signature.

“Prevention works and the data provided by the Review Team to help with that is essential to combating dangerous narcotics and overdoses,” said Nguyen. “Entities such as MATForce in Yavapai County, prosecutors, and the State Legislature depend on information from the Review Team to identify and implement recommendations to prevent overdoses.”

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Florida Attorney General Calls on Congress to Impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas

The Center Square

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging Congress to “begin impeachment proceedings immediately” of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She cites several reasons to justify her request, including claiming he’s violated federal law, lied multiple times under oath before Congress, and is endangering American lives.

In a letter addressed to five Republican congressional leaders Tuesday, she urged them “to act to protect the American people and impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Secretary Mayorkas is directly responsible, and his actions have caused our unprecedented border crisis.”

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Arizona Gov. Hobbs Continues to Veto Republican Legislation to Lawmaker’s Dismay

Neil Jones

Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) unveiled on Tuesday another batch of legislative actions, signing eight bills and vetoing five. Among the bills to not make it was Senate Bill (SB) 1027, sponsored by State Senator Anthony Kern (R-Glendale), which would have increased punishments for fentanyl manufacturers who cause injuries to children.

“We have been fighting the opioid epidemic not just in Arizona, but nationwide for decades,” said Kern. “The least we can do is try to protect our children and future generations from exposure to a deadly drug often laced into opioids. This bill had the support of many Democrats, yet Governor Hobbs continues to show her priorities are out of line.”

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Biden Admin Announces Strategy to Combat Fentanyl Supply Chain

Admin

The Biden administration announced Tuesday its strategy for combating the supply chain allowing illicit fentanyl to enter the U.S. to kill Americans.

The plan includes partnering with other countries, increasing law enforcement information sharing, leveraging the private sector, increasing financial sanctions and urging congressional action, the White House said in a statement. Roughly 70,000 people in the U.S. died of synthetic opioid overdoses in 2021, up from roughly 57,000 in 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Exclusive: Newly Declared GOP Presidential Candidate Asa Hutchinson Says Indictment of Trump a ‘Sad Day for America’

M.D. Kittle

In an interview Tuesday with The Star News Network, former Arkansas Governor and freshly declared Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said a Manhattan grand jury’s indictment of former President Donald Trump is a “sad day for America.” 

Hutchinson, the latest Republican to announce his run for the White House, talked about his campaign, the border and the “tainted” prosecution of Trump in a conversation with The Star. 

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Florida Bill Could Increase Penalties for Dealers for Overdose Deaths

The Center Square

Individuals who sell controlled substances in the Sunshine State such as fentanyl could face serious penalties for the overdose deaths of drug users if a new bill is signed into law.

Senate Bill 280 revises definitions for what constitutes first degree, second and third degree murder and also provides harsher penalties for adults who distribute, deliver, sell, or dispense specified substances that result in an injury or death to the user.

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