Record half-ton of fentanyl seized at Arizona border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection last month made the largest fentanyl bust in department history, officials disclosed on Thursday. The bust occurred July 1 at the Lukeville port of entry in southern Arizona. Authorities uncovered 4 million blue fentanyl pills hidden inside the frame of a tow-along trailer after noting several anomalies in the frame. A 20-year-old Arizona man had attached the trailer to a pickup truck to haul a sports recreational vehicle, CBP said. The agency didn’t name the man or describe any charges against him. Drug-sniffing dogs helped authorities uncover 234 packages of drugs being smuggled over the border inside the frame, which weighed over 1,000 pounds. It is the largest fentanyl seizure in border patrol history, the department said.

Is this normal for border patrol? Officers found over 270 pounds of methamphetamine being smuggled in a tow-along trailer days after the record fentanyl seizure. A 45-year-old Mexican man tried entering the United States through the Lukeville port in a pickup truck with a trailer. Officers found nearly 40 packages of meth and several pounds of cocaine after inspecting the truck and trailer. The meth and fentanyl seizures in Lukeville took over $12 million in drugs off the streets, CBP said. Authorities confiscated over 15,000 pounds of fentanyl since last October, according to border patrol statistics.

Dig deeper: Read my report on President Xi Jinping pledging to crack down on the same fentanyl chemical and pill presses in a deal with President Joe Biden last year.