Customs agents arrest Mexican at border near San Diego after finding fentanyl in his moped

A Mexican man is facing federal charges after Customs and Border Protection found over 16 pounds of fentanyl hidden in his moped.

The 22-year-old, who has not been publicly identified, went to the San Ysidro border crossing between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego on an electric moped on Aug. 3 and was referred for a secondary search, CBP said in a release last Friday.

An imaging system found anomalies under the back of the moped, and drug dogs also picked up on something there.

Upon searching, officers found over 16.5 pounds of fentanyl powder, which would be worth over $238,000 if sold on the street, CBP said.

The officers then arrested the driver and confiscated his cellphone, the drugs, a GPS tracker and the moped. He is facing federal narcotics charges.

There were 107 border-related cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California last week. Charges included smuggling in illegal aliens, smuggling in drugs and reentering the U.S. after a previous deportation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The district contains San Diego and Imperial counties and covers a 140-mile stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, including the San Ysidro crossing.