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Increasingly, the drugs addicts seek are mixed with fentanyl or what they purchase is just fentanyl without any opioids in the mix.

The latest tally from the CDC shows that for the first time ever, the number of Americans who fatally overdosed over the course of a year surpassed 100,000 - a soaring death toll fueled by illicitly synthesized fentanyl that is increasingly replacing heroin. Read more»

State Highway Patrol officers seized this stash following a traffic stop on Interstate 10.

State police arrested two men following an Interstate 10 traffic stop near Marana on charges of transportation of an illegal drug for sale and seized $1.7 million worth of banned narcotics. Read more»

Joaquin Archivaldo Guzmán-Loera, otherwise known as 'El Chapo' was extradited to the U.S. and was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York in 2019. His brother Aureliano was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson, according to indictments unsealed by federal officials Friday.

Federal officials in Tucson unsealed two indictments against Aureliano Guzmán-Loera — the brother of the notorious drug kingpin known as El Chapo — charging him and other high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel with international drug trafficking. Read more»

En enero de 2019 los oficiales de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza en Nogales, Arizona incautaron casi $ 4.6 millones en fentanilo y metanfetamina valorada en casi 650 libras. Los cárteles están contrabandeando cada vez más fentanilo mortal a través de la frontera.

Aunque la marihuana ha sido la fuente de ingresos más rentable para los cárteles mexicanos, la legalización del cannabis en los estados de EE. UU., a provocado un cambio de rumbo: el fentanilo es más rentable, con un gramo que cuesta entre $150 y $200 en la calle, en comparación con aproximadamente $15 por gramo de marihuana. Read more»

The border wall, seen here in Nogales, does little to stop drug smugglers. In fiscal year 2020, agents seized more than 42,645 pounds of cocaine, 5,222 pounds of heroin, 324,973 pounds of marijuana, 156,901 pounds of methamphetamine and 3,967 pounds of fentanyl.

Although marijuana has been one of the most profitable cash cows for Mexican cartels, legalization of cannabis in the U.S. has prompted a change - fentanyl is more profitable, with a gram going for $150 to $200 on the street, compared with about $15 for a gram of weed. Read more»

Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death among kids and teenagers 19 and under in Pima County, putting the county on pace to set a record for overdose deaths for the third consecutive year. Read more» 1

A tunnel was found when agents with Homeland Security Investigations agents, a part U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, executed a search warrant in a home in Nogales, Arizona.

A Nogales-area man was sentenced in federal court to 41 months in prison for his role in the construction and use of a drug-smuggling tunnel to move narcotics through a cross-border sewer system. Read more»

A Border Patrol agent stationed in Ajo has been charged with attempted drug smuggling, including cocaine and heroin, after he and an alleged co-conspirator were arrested after an exchange at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Read more»

A "sustained increase" in the number of overdose deaths related to fentanyl — which are numbering more than a decreasing number of fatal meth ODs — has Pima County officials issuing an alert to healthcare providers. Read more»

A tunnel was found when agents with Homeland Security Investigations agents, a part U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, executed a search warrant in a home in Nogales, Arizona.

A cross-border tunnel was discovered late Tuesday night in Nogales, Arizona, and border agents arrested two men and seized more than 200 pounds of narcotics, including methamphetamine. Read more»

Packages of methamphetamine and fentanyl found in a private vehicle in Nogales by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.

Nogales-area Customs and Border Protection officers seized 268 lbs. of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine worth a combined $3.7 million from private vehicles, and arrested four people. Read more»

Fake 'black tar' heroin, made from fentanyl and burned sugar.

A dark drug is being peddled by Southern Arizona dealers: a concoction of potentially lethal levels of the synthetic narcotic fentanyl and burned sugar, designed to resemble black tar heroin, authorities said. Read more»

The state Department of Health Services estimates that we had nearly 8,600 cases of opiod overdose in the last year, and that 1,382 Arizonans died due to opiod abuse. Many folks that want to get off of opiods here in Arizona cannot find programs. Read more»

Rancher John Ladd looks across the border into  Mexico border, a view he has seen his entire life.

The number of apprehensions of undocumented immigrants on the southern border has decreased, but the smuggling of hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine has increased. Read more»

Dr. Dan Quan, a toxicology expert at the Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix, said fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than heroin.

Arizona on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Chandler-based opioid firm alleging that they participated in fraudulent practices that led to overprescription of a powerful opioid drug. Read more»

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