WARREN, Ohio - A major drug bust took place Thursday when customs and border protection had the largest seizure in U.S. history of fentanyl, the opioid blamed for the majority of overdose deaths. 

While recent numbers show fatal overdoses in Trumbull County dropped 44% in 2018, the commander of the TAG Law Enforcement Task Force says fentanyl continues to be a problem here in the Mahoning Valley. 

"We're seeing a lot of it on the streets," said Tony Villanueva. "Now we have an increase of crack cocaine coming back to the area, specifically Trumbull County. 

Villanueva applauded the bust at the border, knowing all too well how prevalent the deadly drug is.

"It just means that's less that's going to make it to this area. It's satisfying knowing that there are agencies out there that are combating the same problem that we are right now," said Villanueva.

Villanueva says fentanyl is showing up in everything. Toxicology results from the Trumbull County Coroners Officer in 2018 shows fentanyl was detected in about 80% of overdose deaths.

"It's not surprising if you look at the cost of fentanyl compared to the cost of other drugs, it's cheaper," said Villanueva. 

Despite the fact fentanyl continues to show up in crack cocaine, crystal meth, and other drugs, Villanueva says progress is being made. 

"It's still a problem but I think we've done such a good job as a community to combat this, less people are dying from it," he said. 

Numbers from Trumbull County prove that. In 2017, there were 135 overdose deaths, compared to 76 in 2018. 

"We've really stepped up our game as far as building relationships with federal agencies. We've tripled if not quadrupled the amount of seizures that we've had and the amount of search warrants we've had from previous years," said Villanueva. 

He's quick to add though there is still much to do in getting drugs off the streets. 

"We can make all the busts we can, it's still going to make it to this area. Our job is to just keep pushing and keep at it," Villanueva said.