Border patrol agents made a massive seizure of cartel fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine at the U.S.-Mexico border over Labor Day weekend.
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped a tractor hauling a shipment of metal oil filters for an imaging system inspection Friday at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas. With the aid of a CBP K-9 unit, agents uncovered 49 bags of varying narcotics that carry an estimated street value of $2.9 million, reports FOX San Antonio.
The haul included 131 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, 34.61 pounds of suspected heroin and 9.4 pounds of suspected fentanyl. Agents also seized nearly 7 pounds of acetaminophen mixed with small amounts of fentanyl. (RELATED: Mexican Man Accused Selling Heroin For A Cartel Held On Record-Setting $60 Million Bond)
“While many people took advantage of Labor Day sales this weekend, our frontline CBP officers continue to uphold our border security mission and the judicious application of inspection experience and technology resulted in yet another poly-drug load with an overall value exceeding $2.9 million,” Albert Flores, director at the Laredo Port of Entry, said in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities arrested an unnamed 27-year-old Mexican citizen during the incident. Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations will handle the case.
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl killed roughly 27,000 people across the U.S. in 2017, up from roughly 19,413 in 2016 and 9,580 lives in 2015, according to a July report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Overall, drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death for Americans under age 50, killing more than 64,000 people in 2016, according to the CDC. Officials say preliminary data shows drug overdoses killed roughly 72,000 people across the U.S. in 2017.
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