On the morning of Friday, June 2, 2023, an Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Drug Enforcement and Investigations Bureau trooper initiated a traffic stop on a 2015 Honda Accord passenger car on northbound Interstate 19 at kilometer 54 near Amado, Arizona. During the traffic stop, the trooper observed multiple indicators of criminal activity. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed approximately 229.8 pounds of fentanyl pills and 9.65 pounds of cocaine hidden within the vehicle.

The drugs were being smuggled from Sonora, Mexico, to Phoenix, Arizona.

The suspect driver, 27-year-old Fernando Alfonso-Fernandez, was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on charges including possession, transportation, and sale of narcotic drugs for sale.

The estimated 1,042,000 pills and 9.65 pounds of cocaine have an estimated street value in Phoenix of $3.1 million.   back...