US

Smuggler Tried To Bring Fentanyl Disguised In Tamales Across The Border

No featured image available

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted a load of fentanyl pills disguised inside tamales at the Arizona-Mexico border, the Nogales port director Michael W. Humphries said on Twitter Thursday.

The Wednesday seizure included around 2,100 fentanyl pills hidden inside the tamales that were inside a cooler, according to Humphries’ tweet. CBP officers seized over 12,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border between October 2021 and August 2022, according to agency statistics.

“Excellent work by officers and K9 teams maintaining a high level of vigilance,” Humphries wrote in the tweet of the recent confiscation.

On Wednesday, CBP officers at the Nogales POE discovered approximately 2,100 fentanyl pills concealed inside tamales in an ice chest. Each tamale contained a baggie of blue pills hidden inside. Excellent work by officers and K9 teams maintaining a high level of vigilance. pic.twitter.com/VoNNXQHg3T

— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) October 13, 2022

The Nogales port of entry has been the site for many fentanyl seizures; on Sunday, authorities at the port found a new version of what is known as rainbow fentanyl that “had the rainbow colors combined in each pill.”

CBP officers stationed at the port seized around 625,000 fentanyl pills in several August busts.

The highly-potent synthetic narcotic is largely responsible for the over 100,000 overdose deaths the U.S. experienced in 2021.