EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Over 100 grams of fentanyl hidden in a 40-year-old woman’s genitalia were seized on Wednesday, May 7, at the Paso Del Norte international crossing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release.
CBP said that on Wednesday morning, CBP officers selected a pedestrian, a U.S. female citizen, for a secondary exam.
During the inspection, the woman told officers she had a “foreign object concealed in her body,” CBP said.
CBP said the woman was taken to a medical facility for an exam, which confirmed the presence of an object internally concealed.
Medical staff successfully removed the drug-filled package, which contained 113 grams of fentanyl. No additional anomalies were spotted during a subsequent exam, CBP said.
CBP said the woman was returned to the port of entry, where she was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations special agents to face federal charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt.
“This is an exceptionally dangerous practice and could be lethal if the packaging were to fail during transport,” CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio said. “It is best to not engage in smuggling activity, but especially this form. It is risky on many levels.”
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