U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized more than a half ton of fentanyl, or more than 4 million pills, authorities announced this week, the largest drug seizure in the agency’s history.
When CBP officers at the border port of Lukeville, Arizona, stopped a 20-year-old driver of a pickup truck towing a SRV trailer, they found an alarming amount of deadly opioids.
Noticing some “irregularities” with the trailer’s frame, the officer pulled the truck over to the side for further inspection. The agency.
A K9 team found 234 drug packages containing approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills hidden within the frames.
“This is the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP history and reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting our country and disrupting the criminal activities of ruthless drug cartels,” CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement.
“CBP officers and agents are on the front lines every day, using their sharp instincts and cutting-edge technology to prevent deadly drugs from entering our nation and contaminating our communities.”
On July 12, CBP officers arrested a 45-year-old Mexican national driving a pickup truck towing a trailer at the same port of entry and seized 272 pounds of methamphetamine.
CBP agents, again with the assistance of a police dog training team, found 39 boxes of narcotics and an additional five pounds of cocaine, authorities said.
Authorities say the two major drug busts have an estimated street value of more than $12.6 million. Both men have been arrested.
“The amount of dangerous drugs that Port of Lukeville officers prevented from reaching communities across the United States is staggering,” said Guadalupe Ramirez, Field Operations Director for the Tucson Field Office.
The Washington Post has reached out to CBP for additional information about the arrest.
The Port of Lukeville is about 150 miles southeast of Tucson.
