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 packaged inside barbecued beef.
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 its handler to narcotics inside a cooler. A photo of the traffic stop. published by CHP shows a Ford pickup truck with a Washington license plate that reads, “GOTBEEF.” Inside the cooler, authorities found soft drinks, mineral water, water bottles and multiple packages of raw meat 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 driver of the pickup truck, 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 through non-contiguous counties.
(California Highway Patrol)
A day later, in Los Baños, a CHP Central Division canine officer confiscated 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills, worth an estimated $1.2 million, along with two handguns, authorities said. CHP posted a photo of the seizure, with several bags of 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 ongoing effort to get “illegal and deadly drugs off our streets.”
The fentanyl was hidden in packages of meat inside the vehicle.
(California Highway Patrol)
“I am proud of the efforts of our CHP officers here to help keep our community safe and hold drug dealers accountable,” he said.
The state has invested more than $1 billion to combat opioid trafficking, the governor's office said, as part of Newsom's “Master Plan to Address 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 entry.
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 smuggled into the country primarily by U.S. citizens through ports of entry. In 2023, the state seized about 62,000 pounds of fentanyl, worth about $670 million.
