U.S. border officials had a beef with a woman after she allegedly tried to smuggle fentanyl stuffed inside a hamburger sandwich across the southern border.
In one of the region’s most unusual contraband smuggling attempts, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers found a half-ounce pack of fentanyl hidden between hamburger patties during an interception on March 23.
The fentanyl inside the burger was concealed using plastic wrap.
Authorities found the loaded hamburger at the Paso del Norte International Bridge connecting downtown El Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico.
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CBP said that a 27-year-old U.S. citizen was smuggling illegal drugs at the border and decided to get creative during her attempt.
Fentanyl plentiful at border
In January, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said that fentanyl was the leading cause of overdose deaths in America.
In 2023, the DEA seized more than 77 million fentanyl pills and almost 12,000 pounds of it in powder form.
“This is the most fentanyl seized by DEA in a single year,” the DEA said at the time. “It amounts to more than 386 million deadly doses of fentanyl — enough to kill every American.”
Bundles of blue pills containing fentanyl are intercepted at the southern border. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection )
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection sign is posted outside the U.S. Border Patrol station. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In an April 2 release, CBP said that they have had a busy last two weeks intercepting illegal drugs and arresting fugitives.
A total of 62.18 pounds of methamphetamine, 25.27 pounds of fentanyl, 158.64 pounds of marijuana were intercepted, $162,539 of illicit currency was seized, and 44 fugitives were arrested within the last two weeks, the agency said.
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“These seizures and arrests are a perfect example of the hard work that our CBP officers are doing on a daily basis,” said Director Field Operations Hector A. Mancha. “We all have a professional and personal stake in working hard to keep our communities safe.”
Over 1,100 pounds of meth and cocaine were seized from among the shipment of flowers, officials said. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
The loaded burger came after border officials recently uncovered $10.2 million in narcotics that were hidden among a shipment of roses inside a refrigerated tractor-trailer.
Suspect flowers
The 2001 Freightliner truck with a manifest for a commercial shipment of cut flowers was stopped at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, on Dec. 21, and referred for a secondary inspection, CBP said in a Dec. 26 news release.
The drugs were uncovered within a shipment of roses, officials said. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
CBP officers and a canine officer conducted a non-intrusive inspection of the rig’s refrigerated trailer and discovered hundreds of pounds of alleged narcotics wrapped in bundles among the flowers, officials said.
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The suspicious packages contained 164.72 pounds of alleged methamphetamine in powder form, 854.07 pounds of alleged methamphetamine in crystal form and 165.34 pounds of alleged cocaine, CBP said.
Fox News has reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.