Massive Murrieta Drug Bust: $1,175,380 In Fentanyl Found In I-15 Stop, CBP Says [PHOTOS]

MURRIETA, CA – More than a million dollars' worth of drugs were found in a traffic stop in the Murrieta area this week, when a man was allegedly hauling bundles of fentanyl through the region, the U.S. Border Patrol reports. The driver, who was only identified as a 26-year-old U.S. citizen, is now facing charges of narcotics smuggling.

The bust happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday as Border Patrol agents were on Interstate 15 near Clinton Keith Road, according to Mark Endicott of the U.S. Border Patrol. They pulled over a person driving a 2015 Volkswagen Vento, which is a small sedan.

"After a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the vehicle, agents found a cardboard box in the car trunk filled with 10 plastic-wrapped bundles of fentanyl," Endicott said.

Fentanyl is described as a painkiller that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the CDC.

In total, those bundles weighed 4.57 pounds and have an estimated street value of $1,175,380, he said.

"The driver of the Volkswagen Vento, a 26-year-old U.S. citizen, was arrested and is in custody at a Riverside County detention center while he faces state charges for narcotics smuggling," according to Endicott. "The vehicle was seized by the U.S. Border Patrol."

Shortly before that seizure, the Border Patrol made another major discovery on another SoCal freeway.

The first discovery occurred about 1 p.m. when agents stopped a 46-year-old man driving a 2014 Nissan Versa near the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5 near San Clemente, Endicott said. An agency K-9 alerted on the sedan during the stop, and a search of the vehicle turned up two duffle bags in the trunk containing 14 bundles of heroin weighing about 40 pounds.

The heroin had an estimated street value of about $565,000, Endicott said. Border Patrol agents seized the Versa and turned over the driver to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

SEE ALSO:

• $868,154 In Meth, Heroin, Cocaine Seized On I-15 In Temecula Valley: CBP

– MAIN IMAGE: Weighing 34.57 pounds, the fentanyl is valued at $1,175,380 / All images courtesy of the U.S. Border Patrol