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NYC: DEA finds 15,000 ‘rainbow’ fentanyl pills inside LEGO box

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15,000 pills with the marking “30 M” imprinted on them to resemble 30 mg oxycodone hydrochloride pills, were actually “rainbow” fentanyl pills. The dangerous drug was found by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) inside LEGO boxes.

Agents stopped a vehicle being driven by 48-year-old Latesha Bush of Trenton, New Jersey, and seized the 15,000 colorful candy looking drugs on September 28; the first significant seizure of rainbow fentanyl in New York City.

“The pills look like candy,” said New York City’s special narcotics prosecutor Bridgette Brennan. “We believe it is critically important to educate the public about this new form fentanyl is taking.”

“This is deliberate. This is calculated. This is treacherous deception to market rainbow fentanyl-like candy. This is every parent’s worst nightmare, especially in the month of October as Halloween fast approaches,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino III said.

“These pills are hidden in pretty much anything imaginable. Traffickers are very innovative,” he added.

So far, the DEA has seized 36 million lethal doses around the nation after it launched a 15-week enforcement and education campaign titled “One Pill Can Kill.” At least 500,000 of the doses were found in New York State alone.

 

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Immigration

Thousands of pounds of meth seized from vegetable shipments in one week from one border location

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized large quantities of methamphetamine this month alone at just one cargo facility located in Otay Mesa, California. Law enforcement officials warn that this month’s thousands of pounds of meth were smuggled in none other than vegetables.

A shipment of peppers and tomatillos being driven by a 27-year-old male with a valid border crossing card driving a commercial tractor-trailer was stopped by CBP officers, reports The Center Square:

At first glance, the shipment appeared to contain only peppers and tomatillos. But after a K-9 unit screened it, officers examined the trailer and found a box containing a crystal-like substance. Additional officers were radioed to provide assistance and began extracting package after package hidden under the produce. They found 3,594 packages that were tested and identified as methamphetamine. The stash totaled 3,671.58 pounds.

At the same facility and in the same week CBP officers uncovered another massive load of meth being smuggled inside a shipment of carrots. The Center Square reports:

They stopped a 44-year-old man, also a valid border crossing card holder, driving a commercial tractor trailer hauling a shipment manifested as carrots. Officers unloaded the cases of carrots and found suspicious packages hidden underneath, which were tested and identified as methamphetamine. Overall, they seized 574 packages weighing approximately 2,900 pounds.

In both instances, the meth and commercial tractor-trailers were seized; the drivers were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations.

The Center Square writes that Mexican cartels for decades have devised creative ways to smuggle drugs and people into the U.S., including “task saturation” and “migrant warfare,” according to authorities. Surging resources in one area to leave the border open in another area enables cartel operatives and gangs they work with to commit a range of crimes. Another tactic is hiding people and drugs in trucks, including behind or under produce, to bring through ports of entry.

 

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