According to the agency, Tucson Sector agents found the drugs throughout a motor vehicle stop of a white Chevy Equinox that exited Interstate 8 around mile marker 115 at around 6 p.m.
The agents saw many black duffel bags in the vehicle's rear cargo area and observed that the female driver was nervous when being questioned, the agency announced.
After getting consent to search the vehicle, agents discovered that the bags contained packages wrapped in black tape and cellophane that were coated with axle grease, technique smugglers use to mask the scent of the drugs, officials announced.
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The release stated that the case was turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and the driver and her female passenger are now facing drug prosecution charges.
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"I am grateful for the incredible work by Border Patrol agents to keep drugs off our streets," Sheriff Paul Penzone announced in the release. "Their efforts will save lives and promote safety."
Due to the release, fentanyl seizures are a top priority for agents because of their deadly nature and its "extreme" danger to the community.
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Only 2 milligrams of the narcotic can be lethal.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, fentanyl "is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients and applied in a patch on the skin. Because of its powerful opioid properties, Fentanyl is also diverted for abuse. Fentanyl is added to heroin to increase its potency or be disguised as highly potent heroin. Many users believe that they are purchasing heroin and don't know that they are purchasing Fentanyl — which often results in overdose deaths. Clandestinely produced fentanyl is primarily manufactured in Mexico."
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The number of fentanyl overdose deaths grew from 57,834 in 2020 to 71,238 in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Those deaths were the majority of the record total of 107,622 drug overdose deaths for the year, according to the CDC.
That is the highest number of drug overdose deaths recorded in a single year for the agency and the very first time the annual deaths topped 100,000.
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In April, President Joe Biden sent his National Drug Control Strategy to Congress, targeting prevention, treatment, and recovery services, as well as reducing the amount of fentanyl available, according to the White House.
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"This Strategy goes after two big drivers of the opioid epidemic: untreated addiction and drug trafficking," Biden announced back then. "It's time we treat addiction like any other disease. And at the same time, we are disrupting drug traffickers' financial networks, supply chains, and delivery routes, including on the internet."
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