A Tijuana man is facing chargers for smuggling nearly 6,000 pills containing an ultra-deadly mix of the drug fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.
Jose Arturo Acevedo, 35, was arraigned on multiple charges related to smuggling the 5,857 pills, 55 pounds of methamphetamine, 24 pounds of cocaine and 12 pounds of heroine, the U.S. Attorney's office said. He faces four counts of importation of a controlled substance.
Fentanyl is a Schedule II synthetic laboratorieskiller produced in laboratories. When made in labratories, the drug can be 100 times more potent than morphine, and even inhaling or absorbing a trace amount through the skin can be fatal.
Acevedo allegedly entered the San Ysidro Port of Entry on July 19, according to the filed complaint. In his car, he had 24 packages of drugs hidden in a speaker box lying on the floor of the car behind the front seats
The thousands of blue pills Acevedo allegedly smuggled had the markings and physical dimensions of oxycodone. However, Drug Enforcement Administration lab officials determined the pills actually contained fentanyl.
The escalating number of fentanyl seizures concern law enforcement authorities.
In the past two weeks alone, officials have seized fentanyl in powder form three times.
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“We are extremely troubled by the number of fentanyl seizures we’ve seen recently,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement. “Drug users, listen up! This is life or death. If you are buying painkillers on the street and not in the pharmacy, your drugs might contain fentanyl, and even miniscule amounts of fentanyl can have devastating consequences for those who abuse it or literally even touch it. The extreme danger of fentanyl cannot be overstated.”
Th drug can be anywhere from 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin. In some parts of the U.S., heroin is spiked with fentanyl, or replaced entirely with it.
The Drug Enforcement Agency released a nationwide public health alert on the drug last year.
Acevedo is scheduled to appear in court next on Oct. 24 at 2 p.m.
