Elements of the Mexican Army and state police seized 12,260 fentanyl pills and 34 grams of cocaine during security operations a military checkpoint in Sonora over the weekend, which resulted in the arrest of one adult male.

The Federal Attorney General’s Office of Mexico announced the arrest and preventive detention of a male identified as Librado “V” for the transportation of fentanyl and cocaine, while traveling aboard a passenger bus from Sinaloa to San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.

Officials reported that elements of the state police and the Mexican Army were manning a strategic security checkpoint on the outskirts of Querobabi, Sonora, when they conducted an inspection of a passenger bus which originated in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Roughly 12,260 fentanyl pills were discovered enclosed within three plastic baggies inside the luggage belonging to the male identified as Librado “V.” After Librado “V” was arrested, the federal public ministry presented evidence to a federal criminal justice control judge describing the circumstances leading to the seizure and arrests. The control judge granted a three-month preventive detention, allowing investigators to complete their work and determine further charges, according to local media reports.

The border city of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, sits directly across the border from San Luis, Arizona. In February, Mexican federal police seized more than 550 pounds of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl in a truck that was abandoned by smugglers after a pursuit. Federal Police were patrolling along the highway located between San Luis Río Colorado and the Golfo de Santa Clara, approximately 20 miles from the U.S. border. The patrol came upon a truck, which fled in close proximity to authorities. After a pursuit, the passengers abandoned the vehicle and avoided capture.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com