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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Lukeville recently seized approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills, weighing more than 1,000 pounds (over 450 kilos), in the largest singular fentanyl seizure in CBP history.
While conducting a thorough inspection of the pick-up truck, trailer, and sport utility vehicle, CBP officers noticed anomalies throughout the frame of the trailer. With the assistance of a CBP canine team, officers discovered 234 packages of drugs concealed within the frame of a trailer. The packages contained approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills, which is the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP history.
“This is the largest fentanyl seizure in CBP’s history, and reflects our unwavering determination to protect our nation and to disrupt the criminal activities of ruthless drug cartels,” said Troy Miller, CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner. “Every day, CBP officers and agents are on our front line, using their keen instincts and the latest technology to prevent deadly drugs from entering our country and poisoning our communities.”
Guadalupe Ramirez, Director of Field Operations, Tucson Field Office, commended the Port of Lukeville on this record-breaking drug seizure. “This is an enormous amount of dangerous drugs that officers at the Port of Lukeville prevented from reaching communities throughout the United States.”
These record-breaking fentanyl seizures were made in furtherance of Operation Apollo-Arizona and Operation Plaza Spike. Operation Apollo-Arizona is a counter-fentanyl joint operation with a focus on intelligence collection. This CBP-led operation concentrates law enforcement efforts on disrupting drug and chemical supply, collecting and sharing intelligence, and leveraging valuable partnerships. Operation Apollo-Arizona builds on previous actions to further strengthen enforcement intelligence on trafficking networks, including the routes used and their operational logistics.
Guadalupe Ramirez, Director of Field Operations, Tucson Field Office, commended the Port of Lukeville on this record-breaking drug seizure. “This is an enormous amount of dangerous drugs that officers at the Port of Lukeville prevented from reaching communities throughout the United States.”
These record-breaking fentanyl seizures were made in furtherance of Operation Apollo-Arizona and Operation Plaza Spike. Operation Apollo-Arizona is a counter-fentanyl joint operation with a focus on intelligence collection. This CBP-led operation concentrates law enforcement efforts on disrupting drug and chemical supply, collecting and sharing intelligence, and leveraging valuable partnerships. Operation Apollo-Arizona builds on previous actions to further strengthen enforcement intelligence on trafficking networks, including the routes used and their operational logistics.
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Operation Plaza Spike targets the plaza bosses and cartels that facilitate the flow of deadly fentanyl and other illicit synthetic drugs. It is designed to disrupt operations in the “plazas,” cartel territories located directly south of the United States that are natural logistical chokepoints within the cartels’ operations.
On April 10, 2024, CBP announced that it would lead an expanded, multi-agency effort to target the transnational criminals funneling fentanyl from Mexico into American communities.
CBP’s first target is the Nogales Plaza, located directly south of the border crossing at Nogales, Arizona. Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, aka Gio, the Nogales Plaza boss, was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2018 for his role as a Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Boss. He and his organization are responsible for 44% of the fentanyl being trafficked to the U.S., the deadliest drug we have yet to encounter.
The plazas are responsible for virtually everything that is smuggled into the United States. By targeting Gio and other plaza bosses for enforcement action, we can directly impact their operations and ability to traffic fentanyl into the United States, which make its way into communities all across the country.
On July 18, 2024, CBP announced the expansion of Operation Plaza Spike to the El Paso and Juarez.
Sources CBP
Prolly chavo felix load coming from puerto peñasco, packed by rigoberto. Oh right on, Curtis O.
ReplyDeleteFor context, the this seizure is almost four times as large as the previous record seizure (254 pounds in 2019) and the average seizure was 22 pounds. The crazy thing is that this load is probably worth substantially less than a million dollars on the bulk market. We may see more fentanyl trafficking to Canada and European states in the same way that the cartels started setting up new meth trafficking routes once their over-production drove down US meth prices to record lows. The same thing is happening with fentanyl. The only issue is that there isn’t nearly as large of an opioid market in Europe as there is in North America.
Delete9:26 Thank you for mentioning that, huge difference in the size, this is an amount more seen in meth/cocaine seizures. Unfortunatly that does mean overproduction is happening and larger loads like this are getting through as well.
DeleteFentanyl has popped up a bit in Europe, especially after the Taliban banned opium production again, but not nearly the same as in the US. But Europol/etc are worried about it happening there.
El gio and la ch 🍕 just had their border completely shut down over fentanyl. Must be trying to bring down the heat by disturbing El Pacheco in peñasco. Curtis just a lil piglett with an N.
Delete@Socalj: You are welcome. Insight Crime thinks that the size of the load (counterintuitively) indicates that a less-powerful DTO is behind the load; they believe that more powerful DTOs send smaller shipments on a more regular basis, and less powerful DTOs try to push large shipments through all at once. Could be a BLO load similar to the “Methzilla” record seizure, as BLO doesn’t have the presence on the border to regularly send smaller shipments.
DeleteInsight Crime, thought I was only one
DeleteOne thing that they forgot to mention is that the pills only contain about. .05 of actual fent those kgs of fent contain more than the pills so 10ks would have more fent then the 4million pills
DeleteI had a buddy who had a g of fent and got pulled over he threw is in a water bottle and when the cops found It they weighed the bottle and said he had 250gs of fent
@6:20 Insight Crime is a good source for analysis and on-the-ground reporting, though they tend to focus more on South America than Mexico. They’re really good for stories on Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and increasingly for Ecuador. OCCRP is also very good, but for stories on European criminal groups active in Central and South America. Borderland Beat continues to be the gold standard for English-language reporting on Mexican DTOs.
Delete9.57. Curtis big daddy, who is El Pacheco from rocky point. I thought El Charlie ran that plaza for chavo felix. Or El Tony
DeleteYes, Big Daddy
DeleteExactly. Oh right on. CAO. Glendale, Arizona. Need Ice abd Fent
DeleteWelllllll…. What a co-inky-dink!
ReplyDeleteRick?
DeleteI go by "Richard" now, sounds more serious.
DeleteThat is a huge bust. But imagine how many big loads like that are getting through.
ReplyDeleteThat's what she said.
DeleteAWESOME!!! Keep the drugs out of the USA!!!
ReplyDeleteDumb kid probably thought he was just crossing a RZR lmfao 😂
DeleteBoomer!!
DeleteKeep that zombie shizzle in the states please
DeleteErm actually abusing drugs is cool because were sooooo counterculture and edgy!!!!1!11!1!!1 Brought to you by the lacras of Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin etc
DeleteDifferent drugs for the most part, demographic changes, rarely if never did I see a seizure of psychedelics on my frontera.
DeleteLooks like this is no coincidence. Feds are on damage control over their deal with JGL and el mayo not being believed by the American people
ReplyDeleteMayo snitching already
ReplyDeleteThat's Koo foo
Delete8:17 You go girl!
DeleteDude is probably one of those Reddit geniuses that knows everything except for how to use a rake or a broom.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Connor this is most likely El 03 or Tio Lako’s load since taking over Sonora and chihua’s
ReplyDeleteSonora tiene dueno y no es ni los mayos chapos ni Beltran mucho menos unos que no es de aki ..asi no más
DeleteCálmate pinche Mario almada 😂
DeleteConnor lives in Arizona. In a hidden location for security reasons. I got shards dogs. Good prices.
DeleteHavent the hopheads learned yet- split those pills in half first, then do the rest soon after. All at once is a once in a lifetime high.
ReplyDeleteFor your information they are smoked 98 percent of the time. Only a small inhale off that shit and you’re waking up in a hospital if you’re a junkie it’s a good high they can increase their tolerance up to 20 pills per session each.
DeleteThanks for the fyi, had no idea, sounds like an unmerry-go-round of uncertain death.
DeleteWhen are we going to blame America for being greedy. That is why Americans uses drugs. Politics in America has corruption down to a science. Always blaming small countries. Time and time again. Other countries are seeing it
ReplyDeleteONCE IN A LIFETIME YOU CRAZY OR DO I NEED TO LAND?
ReplyDeleteIf 1000 tecatos want to smoke 20 pills a day 200 days out of the year how many blue pills do you need? 4 million and 1000 tecatos ain’t nothing. 4 million pills is only enough to feed Albuquerque New Mexico for one month
ReplyDelete.90 cents per pill
Delete.30
DeleteWhy can't I come across one of these big shipments? Just one load like this and I would be set for like at least a day or two LOL! Praying for Mexico and USA!
ReplyDeleteA gram of Fentanyl is going for $5 in San Francisco where people from Honduras control the street dealing of small quantities in the open-air drug markets. They wheel and deal in front of city hall.
ReplyDeleteSomebody mentioned that an average hardcore fent user will smoke about 20 pills a day, do you think this is accurate? Also what is the price of a pill now, any idea?
DeleteMore blues that won’t be hittin grant and Alvernon lol 🔥
ReplyDeleteDo people even still fk with the blues? I thought enough raw has flooded the streets by now? Perhaps the blue are still being used to introduce (or lure) new users?
ReplyDeleteI am Aan active fetty user and have been since it usurped the Mexi-mud acetyl morphine shit that gets passed off as H on the west coast. Listen, I don't know what San Francisco has going on, but if anyone legit knows how the quality compares to the border region, I would love to hear.
ReplyDeleteContrary to popular belief, fetty is NOT cheap...in SD, the price per oz. of fire powder rivals uncut blow. It is never less than $50 per g and for the really good stuff it is $70-$100 per g.
Because it is a designer drug, it has trademarks...every kilo has an embossed makers mark/brand which indicates who made it and how potent the quality.
I am not trying to glorify the stuff, frankly as a life long opioholic, I would prefer to imbibe in some good old Afghan powder H which tastes like chamomile when smoked and doesn't have the weird side effects of street fetty. The analogs are getting so bizarre that fetty as we know it only resembles true fentanyl in the loosest of terms.
Nw we are beginning to see the ravages of tranq and hear whispers of iso and nitozenes polluting the already alphabet soup of chemical fuckery which is this crisis.
I do not even know a single person outside of co-eds and club-lames who do m30s. Literally nobody who you think of as a fet addict does them...they cost a dollar because they are weak and pointless to the true dopefiend. Its akin to thinking heroin junkies were banging Vicodin ... No.
Legalization of drugs outright and education based on empirical data without the hysteria and stigmatizing rhetoric is the only way.
Eventually people will have had enough personal tragedy due to the drug war/prohibition including overdoses that they will understand there is no morally righteous glory in maintaining the archaic and trogladyte hack politico borne logic that solves a social/criminal problem by giving the worst criminals on the planet a trillion dollar per year monopoly. Of course then we also need to reassess the sense in maintaining several federal bureaucracies and gods know how many local and state task forces yada yada dedicai
Solely to the continued prohibition of drugs.