Millions of fentanyl pills stashed in shipment of green beans in CA, border agents say

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in California seized more than 3.5 million fentanyl pills hidden within a shipment of green beans, officials said.

Officers at the Otay Mesa border found a 48-year-old man driving a tractor-trailer with a shipment of green beans on April 17 at 7:21 p.m., according to a news release by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Upon further investigation and a “full scan of the tractor trailer” along with a narcotic detector dog, 308 packages of pills were found within the green bean shipment, officials said.

The driver transporting the narcotics was detained and taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to the release. The trailer, tractor and narcotics were all seized.

Otay Mesa is 20 miles southeast of San Diego.

This story was originally published April 19, 2023 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Millions of fentanyl pills stashed in shipment of green beans in CA, border agents say."