In Fresno County, CHP seizes fentanyl found stuffed in carne asada

California Highway Patrol officers scored a “meaty haul” in early October when they seized nearly $1.7 million worth of fentanyl in the Central Valley, some of which was found packed inside carne asada.

The seizures were made on Oct. 3 and 4 during two different traffic stops, according to the governor’s office and CHP.

During a traffic stop on Oct. 3, a drug-sniffing dog alerted his handler to narcotics inside of a cooler. A photo of the traffic stop posted by CHP shows a Ford SUV with a Washington license plate that reads: “GOTBEEF.” Inside the cooler, authorities found soft drinks, seltzers, bottles of water and multiple packages of raw beef stuffed with 11 pounds of fentanyl, which they valued at $500,000.

The 30-year-old suspect, who was from Washington, was arrested and faces felony charges of possession of fentanyl for sale and transportation of fentanyl across county lines.

The pickup truck’s driver, a 30-year-old man from Washington state, was arrested and now faces multiple felony charges, including possession of fentanyl for sale and transportation of fentanyl across noncontiguous counties.

(California Highway Patrol)

A day later in Los Banos, a CHP Central Division canine officer seized 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, which had an estimated value of $1.2 million, along with two handguns, authorities said. CHP posted a photo of the seizure, with several bags of the blue pills and the guns on the hood of the car. The two suspects, also from Washington, were arrested and face multiple felony charges.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the seizures were part of the state’s continued effort to get “deadly and illegal drugs off our streets.”

The fentanyl was concealed in meat packages inside the vehicle.

(California Highway Patrol)

“I am proud of the efforts by our CHP officers here to help keep our community safe and hold drug peddlers accountable,” he said.

The state has invested more than $1 billion to crack down on opioid trafficking, the governor’s office said, as part of Newsom’s “Master Plan for Tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis.” His administration expanded the California National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force by doubling the number of service members assigned to intercept drug traffickers along ports of entries.

According to the governor’s office, the task force has seized more than 5,000 pounds of fentanyl powder and 9.6 million pills containing fentanyl since January. The drugs, valued at more than $43 million, are primarily smuggled into the country by U.S. citizens through ports of entry. In 2023, the state confiscated about 62,000 pounds of fentanyl, worth about $670 million.