DEA agents seize 2 kilos of carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer, from the mail

NEW YORK -- Carfentanil is dangerous -- even in the smallest of quantities -- and federal agents found a large amount of it in an unlikely place.

DEA agents in New York City recently seized two kilos of carfentanil, and they seized it from the mail.

It's part of an ongoing investigation.

Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid. It's 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl.

It's supposed to be used as a tranquilizer for large elephants, but drug dealers mix it into drugs because it's addictive. It can also be deadly and cause overdoses.

"That can kill hundreds of thousands of people, so when we take that off city streets, we're removing from the illicit supply chain a lethal poison and it's saving lives," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino.

Tuesday also happened to be National Fentanyl Awareness Day.

The DEA says it's the greatest drug threat in the U.S. as drug-related overdoses remain the leading cause of death among young people.