Border Patrol agents based in the San Diego Sector seized 232 pounds of fentanyl with a street value of about $3 million from a single vehicle, officials announced on Monday.
The massive drug bust took place during a traffic stop in San Clemente, a wealthy enclave about 75 miles inland from the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, multiple Border Patrol sources told Fox News.
BORDER PATROL SIEZES ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL 100 MILLION AMERICANS IN UNDER FIVE MONTHS
It's the third major fentanyl bust so far this month by Border Patrol between ports of entry, meaning that the drugs were successfully smuggled past CBP in a vehicle or were backpacked into the U.S. by mules.
FENTANYL AND A STRONGER FORM OF METH NOW DRIVING AMERICAN HOMELESS CRISIS
Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona, seized 93 pounds of fentanyl from a single smuggler on Feb. 15, while agents seized 24 pounds of fentanyl from a group of smugglers on Feb. 14 near Nogales, Arizona.
Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz noted that the 232 pounds of fentanyl seized in Monday's bust was enough to kill 50 million people.
Trafficking of fentanyl, a dangerous opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, has surged in recent years.
Seizures of fentanyl by CBP jumped from about 4,800 pounds in 2020 to 14,700 pounds last year. At least 12,500 pounds of fentanyl have already been seized in the first four months of fiscal year 2023, which began last October.
Drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl, meanwhile, jumped about 22% in 2021 over 2020. The drug was involved in about two-thirds of the record 106,699 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2021.
Fentanyl and the precursors used to manufacture it typically originate in China and make their way into the United States via the border, which is suffering a historic crisis in illegal crossings that began to surge after Biden's election. The powerful opioid goes by several street names, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, including Apace, China Girl, China Town, China White, Dance Fever, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Poison, and Tango & Cash.
