Jan 31, 2019 - Health

Border officials notch record-breaking fentanyl bust

Danger: Fentanyl signs on a bag of fentanyl.

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Thursday that they captured about 254 pounds of fentanyl, the agency's largest bust of the drug in history, from a hidden compartment in a tractor-trailer at an Arizona port of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border, reports the AP.

The big picture: One of President Trump's claims to support his assertion that a wall needs to be built along the border is an increase in drug trafficking, but most drugs — like this bust — cross the border at legal points of entry, according to USA Today. Fentanyl, a powerful, synthetic opioid, was the drug responsible for the most overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016, according to a recent CDC report.

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