TUCSON, Arizona – Border towns in Arizona and pretty much the whole county have been hit with dangerous opioids from Mexico.
But sitting on the sidelines is said to be one possible answer.
At a press meeting in Nogales on March 18, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said, “Unfortunately, it’s not being used right now.” She added that there is equipment in the Nogales area that could help fight the smuggling of fentanyl through our border checkpoints. “High-tech scanners that can x-ray cars and find fentanyl more quickly are just sitting there, unused, and taking up space.” It’s crazy.”
They are being used, and some of them have shown promise.
“They’re not in the way, cars can go through the border, and you don’t have to stop as many cars,” Mayes said. “They know. Then that car is stopped, but not the ones that don’t have fentanyl in them.
Mayes said that more than half of the fentanyl that has been picked up in the US in the last two years was found in Arizona.
Among them are some big drug busts in Nogales.
Still, Jorge Maldonado, the mayor of Nogales, said that not having that equipment in the field is inappropriate.
Maldonado said, “It’s crazy that the federal government would buy something before it’s finished and set up.”
For Maldonado, getting more money from the federal government is important for getting this gear out there.
He said, “The word has to get out all over the country, but especially to Capital Hill on the east coast.” “The problems begin here, and we need their help to pay for them.”
Mayes agreed and said she might go to court.
“This needs to be done right away,” she said. “Lives are being taken away. And if that means I need to check to see if I can sue the federal government, I will. If that means the state needs to step in and try to pay for it, I’ll think about it.
Mayes said that if everything went perfectly, the machines would be out in the field in two months.
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