Border Agents in Arizona Seized Millions of Fentanyl Pills Over Past Week

Nogales Port Director Michael Humphries at a press conference where U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced their biggest fentanyl bust ever, in Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 31, 2019. Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP

Authorities seized more than 1 million fentanyl pills and nearly 200 pounds of meth that were trafficked from Mexico into the United States, a border official announced Wednesday just days after 1 million fentanyl pills were found hidden in vehicles and objects.

In one of the busts, the illicit drugs were found by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working rail operations at the Nogales-Grand Avenue Port of Entry, which directly connects Arizona’s Interstate 19 with Mexican Federal Highway 15.

“CBP officers ... searched a train entering from Mexico and discovered a compartment in a spine rail car that contained approximately 736,200 fentanyl pills and 196 pounds of meth,” Michael Humphries, CBP port director of Nogales, said on Twitter.

Just hours earlier, border agents in the area found two large loads of fentanyl pills hidden in two separate vehicles.

Humphries said that approximately 152,400 fentanyl pills “secreted in a compartment above the gas tank of a car” were seized by authorities on Wednesday, while more than 148,000 fentanyl pills were discovered under the rear seat of a car a day earlier.

In just over 24 hours, the agency prevented more than a million fentanyl pills being potentially distributed into the United States.

1 Million Fentanyl Pills Found

Over the weekend, a similar amount of fentanyl pills were seized by border agents, Humphries confirmed in a statement on Monday. The illicit drugs were found concealed in a number of methods, including in bumpers, tires, and even on and in people’s bodies.

The port director said officers stopped six loads of narcotics on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, which totaled approximately 1 million fentanyl pills, 22 pounds of fentanyl powder, and 74 pounds of meth.

“Good job by K9 team operations,” Humphries wrote on Twitter. “Concealment included wooden decorations, center hump, bumper, tires, on and in [the] body.”

Border agents have seen an increase in fentanyl seizures in recent months. Since Aug. 20, the number of fentanyl pills intercepted by CBP agents as individuals attempted to smuggle them into the United States ranges from the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands or more—at just one service port in Arizona.

US Drug Epidemic

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned that even one fentanyl pill “can kill” as the deadly drug has been cited behind a growing number of overdoses.

Among dangerous narcotics, fentanyl has been found to be one of the most deadly. The drug is similar to morphine or heroin, but it is 50 to 100 times more powerful.

According to the DEA, criminal drug networks are pushing mass-produced fake pills often laced with fentanyl and methamphetamines into the country.

Mexico and China are the main source countries for fentanyl trafficking directly into the United States, according to a 2020 DEA Intelligence Report (pdf).

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.

From NTD News