Border agents catch women smuggling fentanyl in ‘vaginal cavity’

On Feb. 24, officers working at the Port of Ysleta stopped a 31-year-old female US citizen, who was found attempting to smuggle .394 pounds of fentanyl across the border, according to a CBP press release published Saturday.

The CBP said the female was referred for a secondary inspection, where a drug sniffing dog alerted officers to the presence of narcotics that led to a pat down search. CBP officers discovered a foreign object in the groin area, where she then voluntarily removed a bundle from her vaginal cavity.

On Feb. 28, CBP officers working at the Paso Del Norte Border Crossing intercepted a 42-year-old female US citizen, who attempted to smuggle .293 pounds of fentanyl across the border. A drug sniffing dog once again alerted officers to the presence of narcotics, where the female then admitted she was carrying drugs and voluntarily removed a bundle from her vaginal cavity.

CBP stopped three females smuggling fentanyl in separate incidents on March 2.

At the Bridge of the Americas Border Crossing, officers encountered a 19-year-old female attempting to smuggle 0.26 pounds of fentanyl across the border. The female removed a condom-wrapped bundle from her vaginal cavity during a secondary search. She was reportedly two months pregnant at the time.

Later that day, officers encountered a 39-year-old female US citizen attempting to smuggle 0.17 pounds of fentanyl stashed in her rectum. She admitted to the CBP officers that she was carrying drugs, and voluntarily removed the bundle.

At the Paso Del Norte Border Crossing, CBP officers stopped a 27-year-old female US citizen who was discovered to have a bag filled with 4.1 grams of fentanyl concealed in her bra area, according to the press release.

"It is tragic that people are willing to put themselves in these dangerous situations," said CBP El Paso Director of Field Operations Hector A. Mancha in a statement. "This synthetic opioid is so powerful that if a package were to rupture inside the body, the consequences could be life threatening."

In January, the most recent month of data available, CBP encountered 153,941 people at the United States southern border, around twice as many that were encountered in the same month last year. 862 pounds of fentanyl were seized by CBP officers in January, around 100 pounds less than in January of 2021. This was up from December though, when 549 pounds of fentanyl were seized.