EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Border officers in Arizona have seized the biggest load of fentanyl on record, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Thursday.
On July 12, CBP officers seized approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills at the Port of Lukeville in Lukeville, Arizona. CBP said the drugs weighed more than 1,000 pounds, making it the largest single seizure of fentanyl in the agency’s history.
Officers found the pills within a trailer being hauled by a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Arizona. The man pulled up to the Port of Lukeville in a pickup, hauling a sports recreational vehicle.
Officers said they noticed anomalies throughout the frame of the trailer before a drug-sniffing dog led them to 234 packages.
CBP leaders in Washington confirmed that it was the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP’s history.
“(It) reflects our unwavering determination to protect our nation and to disrupt the criminal activities of ruthless drug cartels,” said Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner. “Every day, CBP officers and agents are on our front line, using their keen instincts and the latest technology to prevent deadly drugs from entering our country and poisoning our communities.”
Said Guadalupe Ramirez, Director of Field Operations for the Tucson Field Office: “This is an enormous amount of dangerous drugs that officers at the Port of Lukeville prevented from reaching communities throughout the United States.”
CBP said that a few days later, officers at the Port of Lukeville also seized 270 pounds of meth and 5 pounds of cocaine from a 45-year-old Mexican national, adding that the estimated street value for this and the fentanyl seizure combined is over $12.6 million.
CBP said the massive drug seizure was the result of Operation Apollo and Operation Plaza Spike.
Operation Apollo-Arizona is a multi-agency counter-fentanyl joint operation with a focus on intelligence collection. Operation Plaza Spike targets the plaza bosses and cartels that facilitate the flow of deadly fentanyl and other illicit synthetic drugs.
Read: Read More