The U. S. Border Patrol has reported record narcotics seizures in the first four months of the year.

From January 1 to April 30, 2023 the USPS San Diego Field Office has seized a variety of narcotics worth an estimated quarter billion dollars. The count includes over 1,500 pounds of marijuana, nearly 5,300 pounds of cocaine, 226 pounds of heroin, 26,500 pounds of methamphetamine, and 4,400 pounds of fentanyl. The total of all these seizures is estimated at over $266,000,000. 

Two recent seizures will add to the total. USBP agents from the Campo Station discovered 112 pounds of fentanyl inside a vehicle at the Pine Valley Checkpoint. The estimated value is more than $1.5 million. El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents located over $340,000 worth of fentanyl in a tractor trailer rig at the Highway 86 Checkpoint. In May alone, this is the fourth big-rig seized by Border Patrol agents for transporting illegal narcotics.

El Centro Police conducted a traffic stop on a big rig on Thursday evening and discovered 260 pounds of fentanyl as well as a loaded 9mm handgun. The driver of the truck, 37-year-old Ameen Kahila of Corona, California, was arrested on various drug charges.