By: DS
Norfolk, Virginia – November 8: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered dangerous fentanyl powder while inspecting vehicles in an export container bound for Sierra Leone in Norfolk, Va. on November 8.
According to a press release from the U.S. Border and Custom office, the manifest listed three older Toyota sedans in the container, which was being shipped from Prince George’s County, Maryland to Freetown, Sierra Leone. CBP officers conducted routine vehicle export examinations and discovered a white powdery substance comingled with personal effects and vehicles.
CBP officers tested the substance using a handheld elemental isotope analysis tool and identified the substance as fentanyl hydrochloride.
The fentanyl weighed 117.2 grams or a little more than four ounces.
Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Illegally manufactured fentanyl consists of a variety of dangerous chemicals. Just two milligrams – the size of just a few grains of sand – may be a lethal dose.
“This seizure illustrates how quickly a routine examination can turn potentially deadly for Customs and Border Protection officers on our nation’s frontlines,” said Mark Laria, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Norfolk-Newport News. “This may be a small amount of fentanyl, but it doesn’t take much of this very dangerous drug to kill someone.”
