NOGALES, Ariz. — In two separate drug busts, Customs and Border Protection officers in Nogales seized about 265,000 multi-colored fentanyl pills from those trying to enter Arizona.
"This is concerning," says CBP Director for the Port of Nogales Michael Humphries about the new trend his officers are seeing. In the middle of August, in back-to-back consecutive days, Director Humphries says it was a vehicle trying to enter the port of Nogales that had 250,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills.
The other bust involved someone entering on foot. Humphries said they found about 15,000 fentanyl pills strapped to their leg.
What makes Humphries worried about this new trend is who those manufacturing these pills are trying to target. "It looks like candy," Humphries says. "There's a purpose for it, you know. Could it be that they're trying to target children?"
He also is concerned that if a user who is also a parent obtained one of these candy-colored pills, a young child would not be able to tell the difference. Humphries says, "A kid comes by all, 'Mommy's got candy,' you know, there could be serious consequences."
It's the latest in the ongoing battle against fentanyl at the border. U.S. Customs and border protection data shows since 2019, fentanyl busts have tripled at Arizona's eight ports of entry. Going from about 800 pounds to just more than 2,600 pounds so far this year.
Humphries says, "We're seeing bigger, bigger seizures here lately." In one scenario, he says officers seized more than a million fentanyl pills at the Nogales Port of Entry.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Miles de pastillas de fentanilo de color fueron incautadas en los puertos de entrada de Arizona
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