PINE VALLEY, Calif. — U.S. Border Patrol agents from San Diego Sector’s Campo Station stopped a major narcotics smuggling attempt, seizing 128.7 pounds of fentanyl concealed in a flatbed trailer. This represented one of San Diego Sector’s largest fentanyl seizures to date.
The event occurred on the afternoon of Friday, June 27, at the Interstate 8 Checkpoint in Pine Valley when a pickup truck hauling an empty flatbed trailer was sent to secondary inspection. After a Border Patrol K-9 alerted agents to the probable presence of narcotics, agents conducted a search and discovered packages concealed in the trailer’s frame. A total of 42 bundles were removed from aftermarket compartments.
The contents were weighed and tested at the Campo Station, yielding 128.7 pounds of fentanyl pills with an estimated street value of $758,000.
The driver, a Mexican citizen, was placed under arrest. The case was accepted for prosecution by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office (possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute).
“This seizure demonstrates the Border Patrol’s role in protecting American communities,” said San Diego Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey D. Stalnaker. “Fentanyl is lethal in even tiny amounts, and intercepting such a large quantity saved countless lives across the country.”
Prior to this event, San Diego Sector had seized 326 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2025, along with 2,396 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,586 pounds of cocaine, and 56 pounds of heroin.