Grand Canyon Times

Approximately 4,000 blue fentanyl pills, weighing more than 1,000 pounds, were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at Tucson’s Port of Lukeville. The CBP announced the seizure in an August 1 news release.

According to the CBP, the seizure occurred on July 1 when a U.S. citizen from Arizona arrived at the Port of Lukeville in a 2011 pickup truck with a sport recreational vehicle on a trailer. After initial inspection, the vehicle and driver were stopped for a more thorough examination. During this inspection, CBP agents found anomalies in the trailer frame where canine officers helped uncover 234 packages of concealed drugs. In total, those packages held 4 million fentanyl pills.

On July 12, another seizure took place when a Mexican citizen driving a 2007 Ford F-150 truck with a utility trailer was stopped for examination. Non-intrusive inspection methods and a canine team helped officers discover 39 packages of methamphetamine (almost 272 pounds) and five pounds of cocaine.

"This is the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP’s history and reflects our unwavering determination to protect our nation and to disrupt the criminal activities of ruthless drug cartels," said Troy Miller, CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the 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."

The Tucson sector runs from the New Mexico state line to the border of Yuma County, which is a total of 262 border miles, according to the CBP’s webpage focused on the Tucson sector. Originally established as the Nogales Sector, it was on July 1, 1926, when the headquarters of the sector moved to Tucson. There are nine stations within the sector located in Tucson, Why, Casa Grande, Nogales, Willcox, Sonoita, Bisbee, Douglas, and Three Points.

U.S. Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding the nation's borders and preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Established in 1924, it operates in 328 ports of entry and protects 7,000 miles of land borders and 95,000 miles of maritime borders.