LAS VEGAS (AP) — The FBI in Las Vegas is replacing billboards seeking tips about human trafficking with signs seeking information about illegal and prescription distribution of opioid painkillers.
The top bureau official in Nevada announced Wednesday that a human trafficking billboard campaign launched a year ago generated dozens of leads.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports FBI local chief Aaron Rouse told reporters the new effort will invite people to anonymously report suspicions about drug dealers and doctors.
Rouse says Clear Channel Outdoor is donating space on 10 billboards, and federal prosecutors and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration are partnering in the effort.
Health authorities say that of the more than 63,000 Americans who died from drug overdoses in 2016, two-thirds used prescription or illegal opioids.
Congress last week approved bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing painkiller addiction and overdoses nationwide.