Arizona Border Agents Seize 1.2 Million Fentanyl Pills, 4 Pounds of Fentanyl Powder

Border Patrol agents at the Port of Nogales in Arizona seized over 1.2 million fentanyl pills and four pounds of fentanyl powder on Dec. 28, 2022. Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Border Patrol agents at the Port of Nogales in Arizona seized over 1.2 million fentanyl pills and 4 pounds of fentanyl powder on Dec. 28, officials said.

Port Director Michael W. Humphries confirmed the seizure on Twitter, stating that border patrol agents “stopped two loads on Wednesday.”

The first shipment contained approximately 541,000 fentanyl tablets, 4 pounds of fentanyl powder, and over 37 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in the doors and rear panels of the cars, according to Humphries.

Seven hours later, approximately 689,200 fentanyl tablets were found hidden in a vehicle, according to the port director.

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. As little as 2 milligrams is potentially enough to be lethal.

Seizures of the drug at the border with Mexico have soared this year amid a growing crisis. The majority of fentanyl is mass-produced in Mexico using chemicals from China before being pressed into pills or mixed with other counterfeit pills made to look like Xanax, Adderall, or oxycodone.

The counterfeit drugs are then sold to unaware buyers.

Earlier this year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned of a surge in mass overdose events involving fentanyl across the United States, stating that the drug is killing Americans at an “unprecedented” rate.

Wednesday’s seizure came just a week after Humphries said border agents at the Port of Nogales had seized approximately 230,600 fentanyl pills hidden inside the spare tire wheel well of a vehicle.

The next day, agents also seized approximately 832,000 fentanyl pills hidden throughout another vehicle attempting to enter the United States, according to Humphries.

A bag full of bags of fentanyl pills seized by DEA Los Angeles. Courtesy of DEA Los Angeles

DEA Seizes Over 50 Million Fentanyl Pills

The DEA announced on Dec. 20 that it seized over 50.6 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022, which represents more than 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl.

That figure is more than double the amount the DEA seized in 2021, according to the agency.

“In the past year, the men and women of the DEA have relentlessly worked to seize over 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl from communities across the country,” said administrator Anne Milgram in a statement.

“These seizures—enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American—reflect DEA’s unwavering commitment to protect Americans and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing those responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl across the United States. DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels—the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels—that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 102,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in January 2022, of which 67 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

The drug is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, according to Families Against Fentanyl. Fentanyl poisoning has claimed more lives than COVID-19, suicide, car accidents, and cancer in 2020, the group said.

On Thursday, coroners ruled that teen actor Tyler Sanders, who starred in Amazon’s “Just Add Magic: Mystery City,” died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

The 18-year-old, who reportedly had a history of drug use, was found unresponsive inside his locked apartment in Glendale, California, on June 16.

Sanders, who was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2021 for outstanding principal performance in a children’s program for his role in the Amazon show, had reportedly told a friend the night before he died that he had been using fentanyl.