Border officials have seized 4,000 percent more fentanyl in 2021 than in 2018 as the border crisis continues, NBC News reported on June 29.
Cartels have taken advantage of increased federal resources allocated for migrant encounters to smuggle fentanyl into the United States between ports of entry, according to NBC News. Border officials have found 41 pounds of fentanyl in fiscal year 2021, compared with nine pounds in 2020, two pounds in 2019, and one pound in 2018.
“For the first time, we’re starting to see these tactics where fentanyl is being smuggled between ports of entry,” Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez said. “Cartels are very creative. They find ways to intimidate migrants and find ways to illegally have them transport that narcotic into the United States.”
Officers at #CBPLaredo remain at the forefront of border security operations to protect the public of lethal narcotics, as seen in this seizure of fentanyl worth $384K. pic.twitter.com/Uw0b2KWT57
— Port Director Alberto A. Flores (@CBPPortDirLRD) June 25, 2021
Cartels have been manufacturing fentanyl using raw materials imported from China, experts said, according to NBC News. Just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal to the average person and one kilogram—about 2.2 pounds—can kill up to 500,000 people, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). – READ MORE
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