YUMA, Ariz. – A Yuma Sector Border Patrol Canine sniffed out over a pound of fentanyl and personal use methamphetamine Saturday at the immigration checkpoint on Interstate 8.
arrested a man Saturday attempting
to smuggle narcotics in the soles
of his shoes.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., agents encountered a Chevrolet Suburban as it drove through the checkpoint. A canine alerted to the vehicle and agents referred it to the secondary inspection area. During a search of the vehicle and the driver, agents discovered 1.72 pounds of fentanyl pills wrapped in duct tape inside the driver’s shoes. The driver was wearing modified shoes with hollowed out insoles containing the fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $25,000. Agents also found two grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s jacket pocket.
Agents arrested the driver, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen from San Luis, Arizona. The Yuma County Sheriff’s Task Force took custody of the subject, and seized the narcotics and vehicle.
Drug smugglers are driven by the high profitability of the fentanyl drug trade and will use any means to get those drugs through checkpoints and past law enforcement. Today, the power of the nose prevented these drugs from moving further into the country’s interior and onto the streets.