Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents from Wellton Station working at the immigration checkpoint on Interstate 8 seized narcotics in an attempted drug smuggling event on November 14.
At approximately 1 p.m., a U.S. Border Patrol canine alerted to a taxicab with a male driver and a single male passenger attempting to travel through the checkpoint. Agents directed the vehicle to the secondary inspection area for further investigation. During their search of the vehicle, agents found a bicycle that contained blue pills within the frame. The blue pills tested positive for the characteristics of fentanyl. The suspected fentanyl weighed approximately 2.2 pounds, and if determined to be fentanyl, the pills would have an estimated wholesale street value of approximately $32,000.
The taxicab driver was released along with his vehicle. The passenger, a 29-year-old United States citizen, was arrested on drug smuggling charges. The suspected narcotics were seized.
