EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Over 12 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine were seized on Monday evening, April 21, at the Paso Del Norte international crossing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a news release.
CBP said the drugs were hidden in a scooter driven by an 18-year-old woman U.S. citizen.
“Smugglers will use any means possible in their attempts to introduce drugs into our communities,” CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio said. “CBP officers remain vigilant because any one of the thousands of arriving vehicles we encounter daily could be transporting drugs.”
The seizure was made at 8 p.m. when CBP’s Mobile Enforcement Team members noted anomalies in the appearance of a red motor scooter with a single woman rider that arrived from Mexico, CBP said.
Officers selected the vehicle for a secondary exam. A drug-sniffing dog searched the vehicle and alerted to the scooter. A nonintrusive, Z-Portal scan of the vehicle also indicated anomalies in the battery compartment, CBP said.
CBP said officers continued their exam and removed seven bundles from the compartment. One bundle contained cocaine, two held fentanyl pills, and the remaining four packages were filled with powdered fentanyl. Officers seized a total of 12.14 pounds of fentanyl and 0.3 pounds of cocaine.
The driver was arrested, and she was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations special agents to face federal charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt, CBP said.
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