A Tijuana man was arraigned Monday in federal court in San Diego on charges of trying to smuggle nearly 80 pounds of fentanyl into the United States, leading to one of the largest seizures of the deadly drug to occur along the Southwest U.S. border with Mexico.
Flavio Diego Rivera Davalos, 19, allegedly attempted to sneak the narcotic haul across the international line at San Ysidro Port of Entry in a 2010 Ford Focus with Baja California license plates, according to prosecutors.
After a service dog alerted them to the presence of contraband in Davalos’ car, agents searched it and found 31 packages of fentanyl stashed in the quarter panels, rear seat, a speaker box and the firewall, court documents state. In all, the officers impounded 77.82 pounds of the drug.
A detention hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday morning, and a preliminary hearing for Dec. 21.
— City News Service