Three people, including an American citizen and a dual national, were arrested and 110,000 fentanyl pills were seized, Mexican authorities said Saturday.
The arrests were conducted by the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection and the Attorney General’s Office, in coordination with other federal agencies, the SSCP said in a news release. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also took part in the binational operation, the SSCP said.
Information acquired by the U.S. and Mexico allowed security agents to implement “intelligence work and surveillance actions” that led them to the three people. After conducting ground patrols in Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, security agents identified two men and a woman traveling in a vehicle. The three fled when they noticed authorities, the SSCP said.
After a brief chase, the three were stopped. Security agents found the fentanyl pills inside the vehicle. They had been divided into 10 packages made of clear plastic. Photos shared on social media by SSCP leader Omar Hamid García Harfuch also show four IDs and three cell phones.
All three were arrested and handed over to the custody of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the SSCP said. The pills were also placed into police custody. The three people have not been identified. The woman is American. One of the men is a Mexican-American dual national and has a warrant out in the U.S. for drug dealing, authorities said.
The arrests will help “curb the trafficking of illicit substances and prevent drugs from reaching young people,” the SSCP said.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has made combating illegal drug distribution a priority for her government. In recent months, authorities in the country have announced several major fentanyl seizures, including a 2024 seizure that officials say was the biggest in the country’s history.
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
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