Drug seizures by San Diego Police Department officers and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents this month have stopped thousands of counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills, including some made to look like candy, from being dealt on local streets.
On Thursday, SDPD announced they had scooped 41,000 fentanyl pills off the streets in two busts this month. SDPD and the DEA Narcotics Task Forced teamed up on the first bust and got their hands on 10,000 illicit pills. Then in a second bust, investigators recovered 31,000 more fentanyl pills, 29 pounds of meth and 600 tabs of MDMA and ecstasy, according to a news release sent out by SDPD. In the same release, SDPD confirmed a bust in May took 9 pounds of methamphetamine off the streets.
Luis Solorzano-Bautista, 28, and Brandon Diaz, 23, were arrested in connection with the second June operation, according to SDPD.
“There is no doubt these drug seizures saved our neighborhoods from overdoses and death.” SDPD Chief David Nisleit said in the release. “These types of operations would not be possible without our partners on the DEA Narcotics Task Force.”
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
On Friday, CBP followed SDPD with news of its own bust: $2 million worth of so-called "rainbow" fentanyl, or pills made in an assortment of colors resembling candy that are meant to attract younger users, according to the DEA.
CBP's bust came the morning of June 16 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. A 29-year-old woman with an 8-year-old in her car tried to cross the border into the US with dozens of packages of multi-colored pills wrapped in plastic.
Agents took a closer look at her vehicle and found 61 packages stuffed in the car's dashboard, driver seat, passenger seat, quarter panels and even in the gas tank, CBP said. Fourteen of the packages contained rainbow pills, 16 had only pink pills and 31 packages were all blue.
The pills weighed in at just over 41 pounds. The seized pills carried an estimated street value of $2,250,000, according to the agency.
“Our officers work diligently to counteract complex smuggling techniques through a layered enforcement strategy. This is especially important with a drug as dangerous as fentanyl,” Mariza Marin, Port Director for the San Ysidro Port of Entry, said in a release. “The dedication and hard work of our officers exemplify CBP’s commitment to the protection of our borders and communities.”
The driver was detained and turned over to Homeland Security and the minor in her car was given back to their family, according to CBP.
More information about fentanyl from the DEA, including resources for parents, can be found here.
In December 2022, NBC 7's Catherine Garcia investigated the presence of fentanyl in our community, and spoke to law enforcement and elected leaders about how San Diego has become a national epicenter for fentanyl trafficking.
Watch "Poison Pill" below:
