An American teen allegedly attempted to bring approximately 16 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill millions, across the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized the drugs at the Ysleta border crossing in El Paso, Texas, as the 16-year-old driver was making their way into the U.S. from Mexico, the agency announced Wednesday. (RELATED: Fentanyl Street Price Plummets While Country Faces High Prices Under The Biden Administration)
“Every time CBP stops a drug shipment of any size it helps protect our communities. Preventing dangerous substances like fentanyl from reaching the communities where we live and work is important,” CBP spokesperson Roger Maier told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Using the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) metric that 1 kilogram could kill 500,000 people, the seizure has the potential to kill over 3,000,000 people.
“Our employees and their families live in the same communities where we work so stopping a drug load like this is important on both the professional and personal level,” Maier added.
The American citizen was handed over to state and local authorities and their 18-year old Mexican citizen passenger was returned to Mexico, according to CBP.
State Police patrol in the Zaragoza-Ysleta International Border bridge, as trucks wait to cross into the United States, after Texas Governor, Greg Abbott announced increased security checks at the international ports of entry into Texas, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
Fentanyl is largely responsible for the over 108,000 overdose deaths that occurred in 2021 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CBP has seized roughly 8,400 pounds of fentanyl so far in fiscal year 2022, according to the agency’s statistics.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.