Arizona Border Patrol finds new version of 'rainbow' fentanyl pills 

Arizona Border Patrol officers encountered a new version of the ‘rainbow’ fentanyl pills at the border that have never been seen before. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials discovered the new version of the drug at the Nogales Port of Entry in southern Arizona, reported Fox News. 

Around 413,000 fentanyl pills were seized in the bust, 44,000 of which had a distinct rainbow color combination, said Port Director Michael W. Humphries. 

Additionally, officers also found 7.4 pounds of fentanyl powder and 14.4 pounds of heroin. 

The CBP did not provide further details on the seizure. 

In August, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned about the increasing use of color fentanyl pills, known as “rainbow fentanyl" in the media. 

"Rainbow fentanyl—fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes—is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement. 

"The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States,” she added.

Fentanyl drug overdose deaths in Arizona have been steadily increasing since 2019, according to Maricopa County Data. According to government statistics, more than 71,000 Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses last year.