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CBP Officers Take a Bite Out of Smuggling Attempt

Release Date
Tue, 12/10/2019

TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested a Mexican national connected to an unsuccessful weekend attempt to smuggle fentanyl into the United States.

Agents discovered fentanyl pills hidden inside of chips
Officers discovered fentanyl pills
hidden inside of chips

Officers referred a 27-year-old Mexican male for a secondary inspection of his Jeep SUV as he applied to enter the United States from Mexico Sunday morning. A CBP canine alerted to an odor it is trained to detect, leading officers to the discovery of more than a dozen packages of fentanyl pills, which was concealed within packages of chips as well as within a cup of shredded beef. The fentanyl weighed nearly 2.5 pounds, worth an estimated value of more than $25,000.

Fentanyl pills were hidden within a cup of shredded beef
Fentanyl pills were hidden within a
cup of shredded beef

Officers arrested the subject and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, while the drugs and the vehicle were seized.

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021