Agents from the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) stopped a shipment of various drugs that was trying to enter the United States through the border between Arizona and Sonora, whose estimated value on the illegal market would amount to one million dollars.
According to a statement from the US authorities, the seizure of the drugs occurred last Saturday, September 28, when an 18-year-old young man requested to enter from Mexico through the San Luis Río Colorado Border Bridge.
It was after 10:30 at night when the young man, an American citizen who was driving a Chevrolet SUV, was sent to a second examination to look for narcotics and other illegal substances, where a canine element showed signs of alert when approaching the vehicle.
In a detailed inspection of the unit, CBP agents discovered 140 packages with different narcotics hidden in the doors and floor of the van:
Three packages contained more than 7 pounds (3.17 kilos) of white fentanyl
27 packages contained 61 pounds (27.6 kilos) of blue fentanyl pills
110 packages contained 107.5 pounds (47.76 kilos) of methamphetamine
“Unfortunately, this is a smuggling method that we continue to encounter, as drug traffickers use teenagers to smuggle dangerous drugs,” said Chris Leon, director of the port of San Luis, Arizona.
Following the arrest of the young man and the seizure of the drugs and the truck by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Division, the CBP indicated that the estimated value of the seizure amounted to one million 666 thousand dollars, equivalent to 19 million 426 thousand 829 pesos.
Cartels use young people as ‘mules’
At the beginning of last September, border authorities in Arizona arrested two young Americans (both minors) who were transporting shipments of synthetic drugs.
The first case was documented during the afternoon of September 2, when a 16-year-old girl wanted to cross on foot through the San Luis Port of Entry; however, the teenager had been reported missing, so they took her to an immigration office and during the inspection they detected that she was carrying 16,200 fentanyl pills (1.63 kilos) taped to her body with adhesive tape.
A day later, a 31-year-old woman in a sedan requested permission to enter the United States (her country of origin); the driver was traveling with her two children, aged nine and eleven.
After using non-intrusive technology and a canine unit to inspect the vehicle, CBP agents detected eight packages between the tires, which in total amounted to 54,000 blue fentanyl pills and four kilos of methamphetamine. The seized drugs could sell on the streets for up to $200,000, authorities said.
Faced with the risk of being “hired” by Mexican cartels to smuggle their drugs into the United States, Chris Leon asked young people to “really think about what they are doing and I implore them to use good judgment, because ultimately, one’s actions have consequences.”
Source: infobae
