Illicit use of pharmaceutical fentanyl and its analogues first appeared in the mid-1970s in the medical community and continues in the present.

More than 12 different analogues of fentanyl, all unapproved and clandestinely-produced, have been identified in the U.S. drug traffic. The biological effects of the fentanyl analogues are similar to those of heroin, with the exception that many users report a noticeably less euphoric high associated with the drug and stronger sedative and analgesic effects.

Fentanyl analogues may be hundreds of times more potent than heroin.

Non-medical use of fentanyl by individuals without opiate tolerance can be very dangerous and has resulted in numerous deaths. Even those with opiate tolerances are at high risk for overdoses.

And fentanyl is regularly being smuggled into California.

This month 20 year old Flavio Diego Rivera Davalos, was sentenced to 87 months in custody based on his guilty plea admitting that he smuggled approximately 77 pounds of fentanyl into the United States.

Davalos, who was 19 at the time of the offense, was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on December 8, 2017 following one of the largest seizures of the deadly opioid along the Southwest border.

According to expert opinions included in court records, 77 pounds of fentanyl would yield 800,000 potentially fatal dosage units and a market value of more than $2 million.

And also this August, Fernando Jesus Peraza, a U.S. citizen living in Tijuana, was arraigned in federal court on charges of importing over 20,000 fentanyl pills in what is believed to be the largest seizure of fentanyl in pill form along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Peraza, who works in San Diego County, was arrested early August 9, at the San Ysidro Port of Entry

Peraza was the driver, registered owner and sole occupant of the vehicle. U.S. Custom Border & Protection officers initially contacted Peraza in preprimary inspection area but was then referred to secondary inspection, where officers found four packages concealed in the passenger side rear quarter panel. The pills tested positive for fentanyl but were designed to resemble M30s, or oxycodone.

Earlier this month, Cristian Araujo Aguirre, 19 of Tijuana, was charged with importing 11,490 fentanyl pills, 61 pounds of methamphetamine and 14 pounds of heroin.

Aguirre was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on August 1, 2018. Aguirre is currently detained. His next court appearance is on August 31, 2018.

“This is the biggest fentanyl pill seizure we’ve seen along the Southwest Border, and it’s likely a national record,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman.

August is only 9 days old. The “national record” may be broken (again) before the end of the month.