U.S. Border Agents Make Largest Fentanyl Bust In History, Discover 254 Pounds Of The Drug Hidden In A Produce Truck

A Saturday drug bust by agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection was announced as the largest capture of fentanyl ever made in the United States.

Officials from the government agency announced the news on Thursday, stating that 254 pounds of the synthetic opioid were confiscated from a produce truck crossing from the border from Mexico at the Nogales, Arizona port of entry.

“The size of a few grains of salt of fentanyl, which is a dangerous opioid, can kill a person very quickly,” Nogales CBP Port Director Michael Humphries said. “This amount of fentanyl our CBP officers prevented from entering our country equates to an unmeasurable, dangerous amount of an opioid that could have harmed so many families.”

The Associated Press reports that agents also seized 395 pounds of methamphetamine, with a street valued of about $1.5 million. The fentanyl is valued at $3.5 million and was mostly in powder form, though officials said some pills were also found in the bust. 

Fentanyl is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and up to 50 times more potent than heroin. A dose of 2 milligrams is considered deadly.

However, fentanyl can also impact individuals who come into contact with the drug, not just those who use it. Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, which happened earlier this month when two police officers in Chico, California responded to several overdoses. Both officers were admitted to the hospital for treatment for exposure to fentanyl.

The mass overdose killed one and sent twelve others to the hospital.

The driver of the produce truck—26-year-old Mexican national Juan Antonio Torres-Barraza—was charged on two counts of drug possession with the intent to distribute in federal court on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Humphries said that the vehicle Torres-Barraza was driving was marked for a secondary inspection on Saturday morning and the drugs found underneath the floor of a trailer. An agency police dog initially located the drugs.

President Donald Trump tweeted about the bust on Thursday, saying: “Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!”