In late March, Arizona State troopers seized approximately 28.85 pounds of fentanyl pills, 165 pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of heroin, over one pound of cocaine, five firearms, four vehicles, and over $20,000 in three different incidents in less than six hours in the Phoenix metro area.
Six people were arrested in the incidents and are facing both state and federal charges.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety says those seizures are part of an effort to disrupt the flow of illicit substances into Arizona. Over the past six months – between September 1, 2023, and March 22, 2024 – the department has seized more than 1,576 pounds of fentanyl combined across the state. This equates to over 7,000,000 pills.
Many of these seizures were significant in terms of weight – 32 seizures were over 10 pounds– which reflects large-scale, organized drug trafficking activity. In some cases, the drugs were bound for major cities across the country, including Chicago and Albuquerque.
The largest seizure occurred following a commercial vehicle stop in Eloy in January of 2024, resulting in the discovery of 208 pounds of fentanyl valued at over $1 million.