Tucson, Arizona - U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered fentanyl in a sedan’s air conditioning unit at the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint near Amado, Arizona.
Tucson Sector agents encountered the 1999 Lincoln at the checkpoint around 4:45 p.m. After a K-9 alerted to the vehicle during an open air sniff, agents referred it to secondary inspection.
In their subsequent search of the car and its air conditioning system, agents seized a bag of blue pills that later tested positive for fentanyl. Agents also seized a GPS tracking device they believe smugglers used to track the vehicle’s location.
of fentanyl inside of a smuggling vehicle's
a/c compressor.
The bundle of pills weighed 1.50 pounds. The drugs have a street value of more than $16,000.
The U.S. citizen driver was arrested on federal drug smuggling charges. The case has since been referred to Homeland Security Investigations.