The United States Customs and Border Patrol seized approximately 22 pounds of fentanyl and 30 pounds of methamphetamine in Arizona during two separate inspections on Sunday and Monday.
The first incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville referred a 25-year-old U.S. citizen from Phoenix for a secondary inspection of his Ford SUV. A K-9 alerted to an odor, leading officers to the discovery of multiple packages believed to contain fentanyl inside the motor area of the vehicle, worth approximately $291,000. The total weight of the suspected fentanyl came out to 21 pounds. Officers seized the drugs and vehicle. The male driver was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The second incident occurred on Monday morning when officers working at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing referred a 28-year-old woman for further inspection of her Toyota sedan. A CBP narcotics detection K-9 alerted to a scent within the vehicle’s floor. Officers removed multiple packages of drugs, which were identified as nearly 30 pounds of methamphetamine, worth more than $842,000 and one pound of suspected fentanyl, with an estimated value $15,000. Officers arrested the driver and turned her over to HSI.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)
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