Law enforcement officials seized over a million pills of fentanyl in a single day in Arizona, according to new data.
Border Report cited information from Customs and Border Protection showing that the seizures took place on January 17, when three different vehicles were stopped when attempting to smuggle the substance into the U.S.
One of them carried over half a million pills, while the other two were taking more than 400,000 and 100,000, respectively. The first one also had 29 pounds of heroin, 29 of cocaine and 5 of meth.
Officers at the Port of Nogales also reported seizing “45 pounds of fentanyl (Feb. 9) – 17.65 pounds of powder and 27.40 pounds of pills – concealed inside a speaker box” on a vehicle.
Acting executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations Diane J. Sabatino detailed that “technology and a CBP canine helped stop these deadly drugs from reaching U.S. communities.”
Authorities in Nogales had also reported similar seizures in September. The largest seizure took place on September 19 after officials found dozens of bundles containing almost 178,000 pills inside a vehicle. It also had 30 pounds of methamphetamine. A week earlier, a man was stopped while carrying what he described as luggage. After inspection officials found almost 165,000 pills.
Such incidents routinely take place at the border. In mid January, a woman who described herself as an “immigration facilitator” was charged with smuggling almost a dozen pounds of fentanyl through a border crossing in New Mexico.
The woman in question is Daniela Paola Valles, who was caught with 11 pounds of fentanyl last November at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry while attempting to enter the U.S. with her vehicle, Border Report detailed.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducted an X-ray scan and found anomalies behind the front seats of the car. After Valles said she had nothing to declare, a drug-sniffing dog alerted of a suspicious sent. Officers then drilled on the floor of the car and found nine bundles with a substance that tested positive for fentanyl.
In November, a Mexican man was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after being caught with tens of thousands of fentanyl pills hidden inside a children’s toy.
Infobae noted that Drug Enforcement Agency agents were inspecting Guillermo “N”‘s car when a drug-sniffing dog alerted officers of the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
Agents then opened the car, finding several boxes and a toy school bus filled with more than 50,000 fentanyl pills, weighing roughly 5 kilograms.
Authorities also noted that the man was in the U.S. unlawfully and he had been deported five times in the past.
Originally published on Latin Times
