Fentanyl seizures at the US-Mexico border shattered records in 2022

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REYNOSA, TAMAULIPAS.- Fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border with Mexico have continued to surge in 2022, with multiple busts setting different records throughout the year.

“A decade ago, we didn’t even know about fentanyl, and now it’s a national crisis,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a press release in August. “The amount of fentanyl we are seizing at the border is staggering.”

Grossman’s comments came as the US Justice Department revealed that ports of entry in San Diego and Imperial counties in Southern California were at the center of a surge in fentanyl seizures at the border, accounting for roughly 60% of seizures of the deadly drug in 2022.

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez announced earlier this month that Border Patrol agents in the sector had made the “largest” bust of liquid fentanyl in U.S. history.

“Fentanyl Bust!!! Extremely proud of our USBP agents & @NuecesCoSo [Nueces County Sheriff’s Office] authorities who worked together, interdicted, & seized the largest amount of liquid #fentanyl in the history of the USA from a traffic stop in Robstown, Texas,” Chavez said on Twitter.

Chavez detailed the bust in subsequent posts, saying that agents found 25 pounds, or three gallons, of liquid fentanyl hidden in a compartment within a gas tank and that the street value of the seizure was $1.8 million.

“This lethal amount is enough to kill a population of 5.665 million people which is 2 1/2 times the size of Houston, Texas,” Chavez concluded.

Source: OEM

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