A trailer filled with 1.57 million fentanyl pills, 114 pounds of cocaine, 13 pounds of heroin, and two pounds of fentanyl powder was busted trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection made the massive drug bust at the Nogales port of entry on Saturday. Smugglers hid the drugs in a secret floor compartment in the trailer and under the seats of the vehicle pulling it.
RISING FENTANYL SEIZURES SIGNAL OVERDOSE CRISIS WORSENING
Massive amount of fentanyl pills, other drugs seized at the Nogales POE on Saturday
18-Wheeler trailer floor compartment with approx 1.27 million pills and 104 lbs of cocaine
Vehicle floor with approx 300,000 pills, 2 lbs fentanyl powder, 13 lbs of heroin and 10 lbs of cocaine pic.twitter.com/z3HIcQdW7C— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) August 22, 2022
“Massive amount of fentanyl pills, other drugs seized at the Nogales POE on Saturday 18-Wheeler trailer floor compartment with approx 1.27 million pills and 104 lbs of cocaine. Vehicle floor with approx 300,000 pills, 2 lbs fentanyl powder, 13 lbs of heroin and 10 lbs of cocaine,” Port Director Michael W. Humphries tweeted.
Fentanyl is a highly potent drug linked to a recent surge in overdose deaths. Though fentanyl pills vary in potency, a Drug Enforcement Agency analysis found that 42% of pills tested for fentanyl tested for 2 milligrams or more, which is a potentially lethal dose.
Humphries tweeted on Aug. 6 that U.S. CBP agents seized 1.1 million fentanyl pills at the Nogales POE in the previous week alone, making Saturday’s bust the equivalent of nearly a week and a half’s worth of fentanyl pills flowing across a single port of entry.
******OVER 1.1 MILLION FENTANYL PILLS SEIZED IN THE LAST 7 DAYS AT THE NOGALES POE****** pic.twitter.com/Ivten2EQBj
— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) August 6, 2022
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Overdose deaths due to fentanyl have skyrocketed in recent years, propelled in particular by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 56,000 Americans died from overdoses on synthetic opioids like fentanyl in 2020 alone, an increase of 56% from the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths due to synthetic opioid overdoses in the U.S. in 2020 are 18 times higher than in 2013.
