Murrieta Border Patrol Agents Make Fentanyl Bust In Barstow

MURRIETA, CA — U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed out of Murrieta's Theodore L. Newton, Jr. and George F. Azrak Border Patrol Station made a fentanyl bust this week in Barstow that resulted in two men being turned over to U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. Monday, the agents spotted two men in a silver sedan that was parked at a gas station near the westbound Interstate 15/Barstow Road offramp in Barstow.

After speaking with the men, the agents searched the car and found "multiple bundles," totaling 35 pounds, hidden in the trunk. The packages contained fentanyl with a $553,000 street value, according to the USBP.

It's not clear whether the fentanyl was pure, but law enforcement officials have warned it takes just 2 milligrams of the synthetic opioid to kill a human.

During the bust, the 23-year-old driver from the United States and his 31-year-old Guatemalan passenger, along with the drugs, were turned over to U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. The car was seized by U.S. Border Patrol.

The Newton-Azrak Station at 25762 Madison Avenue in Murrieta is responsible for a 3,800-square-mile coverage area, including what the U.S. Border Patrol calls one of the country's most prolific drug trafficking corridors: Interstate 15.

The freeway is a main ingress and egress route used by transnational criminal organizations to move illicit contraband and proceeds between the U.S. and Mexico, according to the federal agency.

The Newton-Azrak Station is part of the U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector, which has been busy with fentanyl busts. Since October 2021, the sector's agents have seized more than 1,000 pounds of the drug, an approximate 200% increase over the previous year, the agency reported.

Aaron Heitke, who serves as chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector, praised the more than 2,400 agents he oversees.

"These agents are responsible for over 50% of all fentanyl seized by the U.S. Border Patrol this year," he said.