US News
Published June 10, 2024 at 6:17 pm ET
(The Center Square) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents continue to seize record amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, guns and ammunition at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona.
The seizures in May continued the trend of agents capturing suspected smugglers trying to smuggle drugs into the United States and weapons into Mexico.
Cartel and gang agents have a pattern of smuggling people and drugs into the United States and smuggling guns, ammunition, cash and other contraband using stolen cars into Mexico, law enforcement officials told The Center Square.
Last month, CBP agents seized more than three million fentanyl pills in one shipment, said Mariposa Nogales port director Michael Humphries.
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05/30: CBP officers conducting outbound operations at the Nogales port of entry confiscated 13,460 rounds of assault rifle ammunition. The ammunition was hidden in the vehicle’s panels, the firewall and one of the doors. Most likely, this ammunition was intended to support the operations of drug cartels in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/3CZaigxwWB
— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) June 5, 2024
After searching a utility trailer, a canine team allowed officers to find approximately 3,372,300 fentanyl pills hidden inside hollow steel beams that formed the floor of the trailer.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, seven out of every 10 fentanyl pills seized contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
In this seizure, using DEA metrics, CBP agents seized enough fentanyl pills to kill at least 2.36 million people.
In another stop, CBP agents conducting exit operations confiscated 13,460 rounds of assault rifle ammunition.
After searching the vehicle, they found the ammunition hidden inside its panels and firewall and in one of the doors.
Border Patrol agents searching for a group of migrants near the border in Yuma, Arizona, on May 16, 2024. James Breeden for New York Post
In another exit stop, they seized 53,858 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, two pistols, nine M13 thermobaric devices and 18 magazines.
The ammunition and “a large quantity of ammunition would likely be used to supply and support cartel operations,” Humphries said.
In another stop, CBP agents from the Port of Nogales conducting commercial operations seized 323 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of coal.
Some of the bags had packages disguised as charcoal logs that contained methamphetamine mixed with the charcoal. A K9 unit helped uncover the stash.
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05/16: CBP officers at the Nogales port of entry confiscated approx. 700,000 fentanyl pills hidden in several cans and cartons of food in the trunk of a vehicle. Officers continue to be very diligent in searching for dangerous opioids. Good team work! pic.twitter.com/Z2oS1j7ccp
— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) May 23, 2024
According to AddictionResources.net, a lethal dose of methamphetamine is estimated to be 200 milligrams. Based on the amount seized, and using this benchmark, they seized enough methamphetamine to kill over 2,267 people.
Prior to Memorial Day weekend, in one week, CBP agents at the Nogales port of entry seized approximately 265,275 fentanyl pills in a spare tire in a single stop on May 26.
They seized 56 pounds of methamphetamine also hidden in a spare tire on May 28. They confiscated approximately 22,050 fentanyl pills that a suspected smuggler had tied to his legs on May 29. They also seized approximately 49,950 fentanyl pills hidden inside a car battery.
Together, they seized enough fentanyl and methamphetamine that could have killed more than 25.6 million people in just a handful of arrests.
In another stop, they seized approximately 700,000 fentanyl pills hidden in various food containers, packaging, cans and cardboard in the trunk of a vehicle.
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CBP officers working outbound operations at the Nogales port of entry seized 53,858 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, 2 handguns, 9 M13 thermobaric devices, and 18 magazines on Monday. Most likely, this large amount of ammunition was intended to supply and support cartel operations. pic.twitter.com/IjVIUuRIgy
— Port Director Michael W. Humphries (@CBPPortDirNOG) May 15, 2024
The amount seized was enough to kill more than 490,000 people, more than the individual population of every Arizona city except Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa.
“Officers continue to be very diligent in searching for dangerous opioids,” Humphries said.
The amount of fentanyl and methamphetamine they seized in these few stops was enough to kill nearly four times the population of Arizona, which is just over 7 million.
The Nogales Point of Entry is part of CBP’s Tucson Sector, one of the busiest in the country for agents combating illegal activities.
It is located approximately 65 miles from the US-Mexico border and is the commercial access point to the United States from Nogales, Sonora, in Mexico.
The value of imports and exports passing through the Mariposa Nogales port of entry in 2022 totaled $28.6 billion, according to the Santa Cruz County Port Authority of Greater Nogales.
In 2023, almost 382,000 trucks, 3.7 million cars, 889 trains, almost 3 million pedestrians and, in general, more than 10.3 million people crossed through the port of entry from Mexico to Arizona, according to data from the port Authority.
Over the past three fiscal years, CBP Tucson OFO agents have increasingly apprehended record numbers of people illegally crossing the border.
From fiscal year 2024 through April, they apprehended 28,292 people who crossed the border illegally, almost as many as the entire fiscal year 2023 of 29,086, according to CBP data. The majority of those arrested were single adults.
By comparison, they detained 9,929 in fiscal year 2022 and 6,659 in fiscal year 2021, according to CBP data.
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