CBP Officers intercept smuggler carrying fentanyl inside his body

EL PASO, TEXAS – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Ysleta international crossing in El Paso seized approximately one-third of a pound of fentanyl. The drugs were hidden in the rectum of a 41-year-old male U.S. citizen pedestrian border crosser. 

“We cannot emphasize strongly enough exactly how dangerous this smuggling method is,” said CBP Ysleta Port Director Arnie Gomez. “If the concealment packaging were to rupture the results could be lethal.”

The events leading to the seizure began just after 7 p.m. March 31 when the man arrived from Mexico. The primary CBP officer selected the man for a secondary exam following a short interview. A CBP drug sniffing dog searched the man and alerted to the presence of narcotics. CBP officers continued their inspection, and the results suggested that the man had drugs concealed in his anal cavity.

The man would not consent to a medical exam designed to confirm the presence of a foreign object inside his body. A Homeland Security Investigations task force officer arrived and an HSI special agent obtained a search warrant shortly after midnight April 1 allowing medical personnel at a local hospital to x-ray the man and conduct an exam. 

The x-ray exam confirmed the presence of a foreign object concealed internally. CBP officers continued to monitor the man while he was under medical care, and he eventually passed a bundle just before 2 p.m. The contents of the package contained multiple tablets which tested positive for fentanyl. The total weight was 0.31 pounds. 

CBP officers arrested the driver. He was turned over to HSI special agents to face charges associated with the failed smuggling attempt. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.