A suspect was arrested after border patrol agents discovered over 100 pounds of fentanyl pills being smuggled into Southern California.

At around 4 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted a suspicious vehicle near Avenida Vista Hermosa on the 5 Freeway in San Clemente.

Authorities stopped the vehicle and a K9 “trained to detect the presence of concealed people, narcotics, and other contraband conducted a search of the vehicle and alerted agents to search further,” officials said.

In the car’s trunk, agents discovered a large amount of plastic-wrapped packages placed inside trash bags.

Inside the bags, 40 cellophane-wrapped packages containing blue fentanyl pills were found. The total weight of the pills was around 105 pounds.

The driver, identified only as an adult male who was a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody. The suspect and narcotics were later turned over to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for prosecution on state charges and the vehicle was seized by U.S. Border Patrol.

“Transnational Criminal Organizations continue to threaten our communities by bringing dangerous narcotics such as fentanyl into our country,” said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “We will continue disrupting these organizations through our vigilance and the commitments we have made to serve and protect our communities.”

This latest narcotics bust follows a similar incident in San Diego County two weeks ago when agents seized around 168 pounds of fentanyl pills during a traffic stop. The narcotics had an estimated street value of $1.3 million.

“Nearly half of the approximately 2,800 pounds of fentanyl seized by the U.S. Border Patrol in Fiscal Year 2023 was encountered in the San Diego Sector which encompasses approximately 60 linear miles of international border with Mexico beginning at Imperial Beach,” border officials said. “San Diego Border Patrol agents have seized approximately 700 pounds of fentanyl in the current fiscal year.”

The case remains under investigation. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, call 911 or the San Diego Sector at 619-498-9900.

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