Arizona Border Agents Find More Than 600 Pounds Of Cocaine Hidden In Cucumber Shipment | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Ashe Schow.

    Arizona border agents searching a large cucumber shipment were surprised to discover more than 600 pounds of cocaine being smuggled into the country hidden within the boxes containing the fruit.

    The Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) Phoenix division said that 615 pounds of cocaine was seized from the cucumber shipment, 3TV/CBS 5 reported. Photos posted to Twitter by the DEA appeared to show the cocaine was hidden beneath the cucumbers.

    Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) added that the bust was part of a joint effort by the HIS, DEA, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which "prevented over 600 lbs of cocaine comingled in a cucumber shipment from entering the US during a smuggling attempt."

    The cocaine bust is simply the latest find by authorities working to keep drugs off the street of America. As The Daily Wire previously reported, a Florida woman was arrested in late January after police allegedly found 34,000 lethal doses of fentanyl in her baby's crib.

    Rebecca Turner, 35, was arrested after police executed a search warrant on her home, Law & Crime reported.

    "During the search warrant, investigators located a small yellow back [sic] in a baby crib, in the master bedroom, that contained personal documentation and clothing for Turner," the Panama City Police Department (PCPD) wrote in an affidavit-complaint obtained by the outlet. "Within the bag, investigators located a baby formal [sic] can that contained several plastic baggies with different substances."

    The bags were field-tested and alleged to contain multiple doses of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. One bag reportedly contained "a green leafy substance."

    The PCPD said in a press release that the drugs were discovered during a child abuse investigation. Detectives were notified by the Florida Department of Children and Families last Wednesday that Turner was possibly abusing her child. Authorities investigated and charged Turner "with two counts of child abuse and violation of probation," the PCPD said.

    Massive amounts of drugs like the one found in the cucumber shipment are typically found crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The Daily Wire reported earlier this year that for the first time in history, more fentanyl has been seized at U.S. borders than heroin:

    According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, 11,201 pounds of fentanyl was seized in fiscal year 2021, compared to 5,400 pounds of heroin. Other drugs seized include 319,447 pounds of marijuana, 190,861 pounds of methamphetamine, 97,638 pounds of cocaine, and 10,848 pounds of ketamine.

    2,158 pounds of fentanyl has been seized in fiscal year 2022 to date, compared to 277 pounds of heroin.

    The amount of heroin seized at the border decreased from 5,763 pounds in 2020, while the amount of fentanyl seized has exploded from 4,791 pounds in 2020.

    "Not only were fentanyl seizures at the highest level ever recorded, but fentanyl overdoses within the United States also hit new highs, indicating the success that transnational criminal organizations had in pushing their deadly products to the public," the Washington Examiner reported.

    The Daily Wire also reported that "from May 2020 to May 2021, America reached a deadly milestone. 100,255 Americans died of drug overdoses, the first time more than 100,000 people died in such a way, with much of the increase being driven by the stream of fentanyl flooding the country."

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