U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are seizing record amounts of fentanyl and meth in Arizona and Texas brought in by Mexican cartel operatives and foreign nationals trying to enter the United States illegally.
In just five separate inspections ahead of Labor Day weekend, for example, officers seized 625,000 pills in Nogales, Arizona, which borders Sonora, Mexico, Michael Humphries, CBP Director of the Nogales Port of Entry, said.
The record amounts confiscated were reported after seizures of fentanyl at the southern border jumped over 200 percent in July.
In that month alone, federal agents seized more than 2,100 pounds of the illicit drug, the highest amount seized in at least the last four fiscal years. It was up 202 percent from the 640 pounds of fentanyl seized in June.
In April, agents seized 1,300 pounds of the drug, according to CBP data.
In the El Paso Sector of Texas, CBP Director of Field Operations Randy Howe said agents in his sector alone confiscated more than 3,000 pounds of cocaine, 133 pounds of marijuana, made 42 arrests, and confiscated an estimated street value of $23.1 million worth of narcotics in seven days this month.
On Sept. 1, agents seized 545 pounds of cocaine at the Port of Laredo worth an estimated street value of $4 million.
Laredo officers also recently uncovered $11.8 million worth of cocaine that was described as a shipment of baby wipes.
But not all narcotics being smuggled into the United States are discovered.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death of adults in the United States between the ages of 18 and 45. In 2020, 77 percent of all teen overdose deaths involved fentanyl, according to a study published by JAMA.
Two milligrams, the weight of a mosquito, is lethal. A teaspoon holds about 5,000 milligrams, enough to kill 2,500 people. One pound of fentanyl, or 453,592 milligrams, could kill 226,796 people.
