US Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 16 pounds (7.5kg) of fentanyl hidden inside an electric moped attempting to cross the southern border, leading to federal charges against a 22-year-old Mexican national. The seizure highlights the increasingly inventive methods smugglers are using to move lethal narcotics into the United States, according to officials, and underscores ongoing efforts by border agents to intercept such attempts using imaging technology and detection dogs.

The man was driving a 2024 Revoo electric moped when he sought entry at the border on 3 August and was referred for secondary inspection. A nonintrusive imaging scan flagged anomalies beneath the rear of the vehicle, and a CBP canine alert led officers to find seven packages containing 16.53 pounds of fentanyl powder, worth an estimated $238,032. Officers also confiscated a GPS tracker and a mobile phone, and the driver now faces federal prosecution for narcotics importation. The case follows a similar day in May when CBP agents at two separate California crossings seized over $300,000 in combined fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine hidden in vehicles.