CBP: $21.1M worth of fentanyl stashed in green beans shipment at Otay Mesa entry

By De’Anthony Taylor

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    OTAY MESA, California (KGTV) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than three million blue fentanyl pills hidden in a shipment of green beans at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry facility.

The major drug bust happened Monday, April 17 at around 7:21 p.m. Border Patrol agents say a 48-year-old man driving a tractor-trailer approached the entry with a shipment marked as green beans.

CBP says once the driver and cargo load were pointed over for an intensive agriculture inspection, irregularities were found and CBP officers called in a CBP human/narcotic detector dog, who alerted officers to drugs.

Authorities recovered 308 packages of fentanyl pills stashed within the green beans. The pills, which weighed 776.03 pounds and amounted to 3,520,000 in total, have an estimated street value of $21,120,000. The tractor-trailer and narcotics were seized by CBP officers.

“CBP recognizes our officers’ exceptional performance and applaud their continued efforts to protect and serve our communities,” said Rosa Hernandez, Port Director for the Otay Mesa Cargo Facility.

“This seizure provides insight and displays how our officers work together in collaboration to keep this dangerous drug off the streets.”

The driver was detained for the alleged narcotic smuggling attempt and was turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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