Nogales now 'ground zero' for fentanyl smuggled into U.S.

NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — Since October of last year, 92% of all fentanyl seizures have occurred at ports of entry like the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz.

It can often turn into a game of chess as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers try to keep a one-up on would-be smugglers.

"They adjust to everything we do, and we adjust to them as well," said Port Director Michael Humphries. "We’re seeing mostly fentanyl. Fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder."

Every day, Humphries and his team of CBP officers have the task of stopping thousands of pounds of fentanyl from entering the U.S.

"This is one of our priorities. Last year in the United States, 110,000 drug overdoses," he said. "About 70% of those were from opioids such as fentanyl."

With hundreds of thousands crossing the border every month, he says there’s a lot to look out for as smugglers find new ways to conceal the synthetic opioids.

"It’s not just open a trunk and there it is. A lot of this is deep, deep concealment," he explained. "Gas tanks, tires where we have to disassemble a vehicle to actually get access to those drugs that are hidden."

In order to find smugglers in a sea of what Humphries calls mostly honest people, the port is divided into four lanes for commercial trucks, buses, cars and pedestrians.

He said they give "three, four, five looks at every car coming through."

He added that they implement other forms of technology to aid with finding contraband.

"Technology, canine, x-ray type technology, the officer interview," Humphries said.

With Nogales now serving as ‘ground zero’ for fentanyl entering the country, according to CBP data, it’s an uphill battle Humphries is determined to win.

"It’s not just a problem at the border; it’s throughout the U.S.," he said. "So we need to do everything we can here to stop them from entering the U.S. and going to those places."