SAN DIEGO — Through the end of April, an estimated quarter of a billion dollars worth of narcotics have been seized in the San Diego Field Office, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“To create safer and stronger communities, CBP officers utilize their training, experience, and an array of technologies to seize an alarming amount of narcotics.” said Sidney Aki, CBP Director of Field Operations for San Diego. “Statistically, fentanyl is one of the deadliest drug threats our nation has ever encountered and CBP is on the frontline seizing record amounts of it.”

Aki also said “preventing the cross-border smuggling of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs is one of our top priorities.”

The San Diego Field Office is made up of the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry, San Diego air and seaport, Calexico East/West, Tecate, and Andrade Ports of Entry.

According to CBP the following drugs have been confiscated since the year began:

• Marijuana – 1,535 pounds seized ($3,838,150)

• Cocaine – 5,287.27 pounds seized ($83,939,100)

• Heroin – 226.83 pounds seized ($3,086,400)

• Methamphetamine – 26,579.09 pounds seized ($55,816,089)

• Fentanyl – 4,403.38 pounds seized ($119,893,800)

The drugs have an estimated street value of $266,573,500 according to CBP and were interdicted during 1,359 separate incidents.

The people involved in these narcotic smuggling events are said to have been arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for further investigation and processing.