US Citizen Arrested After Trying Enter Country With Fentanyl Concealed In His Body

A U.S. citizen was arrested this week after attempting to enter the country from Mexico with a “bundle” of fentanyl hidden inside his body, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

CBP officers at the Ysleta international crossing in El Paso, Texas, encountered a 41-year-old U.S. citizen arriving fron Mexico shortly after 7 p.m. on March 31. After a short interview, the man was selected for a secondary exam.

A CBP canine alerted to the presence of narcotics on the man. A physical inspection suggested the man had drugs concealed in his rectum, but he did not consent to a medical exam to confirm the presence of a foreign object in his body.

A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent obtained a search warrant shortly after midnight on April 1 to X-ray the man and conduct an exam. At a local hospital, an X-ray confirmed the presence of a foreign object concealed within his anal cavity. CBP officers monitored the man as he remained under medical care until he eventually passed the object shortly before 2 p.m.

The object was a package that contained fentanyl tablets weighing a total of 0.31 pounds. The man was arrested and turned over to HSI agents to face charges.

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