The sensitive nose of a drug-sniffing dog has led to what federal officials say is the largest seizure in US history of fentanyl. This is a synthetic opioid that is blamed for the majority of overdose deaths.
Customs and Border Protection officers said Thursday they discovered 254 pounds of the drug hidden in a floor compartment of a truck loaded with cucumbers. They also found 395 pounds of methamphetamine. The fentanyl was valued at $3.5 million and the methamphetamine at $1.1 million.
A suspect tractor-trailer was stopped Saturday trying to enter the US through the border checkpoint in Nogales, Arizona. Authorities said it was driven by a 26-year-old man who was arrested and charged with possessing drugs with the intent to distribute them. His identity and nationality were not immediately available.
According to nbcnews.com, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that fentanyl was responsible for more than 28,400 overdose deaths in 2017, the latest year for which figures are available. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the drug is up to 100 times stronger than morphine.