Border
Border Patrol K-9 finds $2M worth of fentanyl during traffic stop in Arizona
The fentanyl seized during last week’s bust was more than the total amount of fentanyl seized in the Yuma Sector during the entirety of Fiscal Year 2022
June 6, 2023 7:00am
Updated: June 6, 2023 7:00am
During a traffic stop in Arizona last week, a Border Patrol K-9 sniffed out around $1 million worth of fentanyl pills—enough to kill about 48 million people, officials said.
The K-9 found the drugs at a checkpoint along I-8 near Yuma, Arizona, posted Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McChurck-Daniel on Twitter. The K-9 detected narcotics within the car, prompting a search by agents, who found packages of the drug hidden inside the car seats. Packages of the deadly drug were also found inside the gas tank.
"The narcotics totaled more than 192 pounds, enough to kill 48 million people," McGurk-Daniel wrote in the post, which contained a picture of the K-9 and the packages of drugs hidden in the vehicle.
Following a K9 alert, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents found more $2 million worth of fentanyl at a checkpoint along Interstate 8 near Yuma. The narcotics totaled more than 192 pounds, enough to kill 48 million people. #TheNoseKnows #OnePillCanKill #YumaSector pic.twitter.com/GuY4kojSBL
— Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel (@USBPChiefYUM) June 1, 2023
The fentanyl seized during last week’s bust was more than the total amount of fentanyl seized in the Yuma Sector during the entirety of Fiscal Year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
This was the second major drug bust that took place in Arizona last weekend. On June 2, Arizona troopers found around 230 pounds of fentanyl and ten pounds of cocaine hidden inside a car during a traffic stop in Amado, about 45 minutes away from the border.
"During the traffic stop, the trooper observed multiple indicators of criminal activity," prompting a search of the car, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) wrote in a news release.
According to officials, the drugs were being smuggled from Sonora, Mexico to Phoenix.
"The estimated 1,042,000 pills and 9.65 pounds of cocaine have an estimated street value in Phoenix of $3.1 million," DPS said.
The driver of the car, identified as 27-year-old Fernando Alfonso-Fernandez, was arrested and booked into Pima County Jail.
