“There’s something actually known as the drug bust paradox,” Kolla said.

“Community members think that bringing drugs off the street, and this type of drug bust, is a positive. In fact, we have very strong public health research that shows that often in the wake of drug busts like this, opioid-related overdose deaths increase.”[…]

That’s likely because people with addictions are forced to turn to other sources of supply and buy from dealers they aren’t familiar with, she explains. When people don’t know how strong their drugs are, their risk for overdoses goes up.