Yuma Sector Canine Sniffs Out Fentanyl

YUMA, Ariz. – A Yuma Sector canine working at the immigration checkpoint on Highway 78 near Blythe, California, sniffed out a sandwich bag containing fentanyl pills hidden in a suitcase Thursday morning.

At approximately 8 a.m., Border Patrol agents referred a Toyota Prius to the checkpoint’s secondary inspection area following a canine alert.

Agents determined that the four vehicle occupants were U.S. citizens from Kingman, Arizona. Three of them drove to Calexico, California, to pick up the fourth and they were in the process of heading back to Kingman when they drove through the checkpoint.  

During a search of the vehicle, agents found a plastic bag containing 77 grams of fentanyl pills, worth $1,800. The pills were found in a suitcase that belonged to the 32-year-old female who was picked up in Calexico.

The female was arrested and the fentanyl was seized.

Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine but 50 to 100 times more potent. Only two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. The amount of fentanyl this individual had is equivalent to 77,000 milligrams.