A package containing more than a pound of fentanyl from Canada has been seized by customs officials at a shipping facility in the port of Seattle, according to U.S. officials. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency says the shipment was discovered in plastic bags containing a brown, rock-like substance, which were tested and found to contain the potentially deadly synthetic opioid. The agency says the package was found during a targeted enforcement operation at the facility on Feb. 6. The discovery was publicized on Thursday, two days after the Canadian government announced the appointment of a so-called “fentanyl czar” in an effort to appease U.S. President Donald Trump, who has cited the drug’s importation into the U.S. as justification for threatened trade tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The U.S. customs agency did not provide further details about where the fentanyl found in Seattle came from, only that the package “originated in Canada,” or whether there were any arrests related to the seizure. “Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic drug that plagues our communities,” said Rene Ortega, a Seattle-area director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a statement. “CBP uses a variety of techniques to keep our nation safe,” Ortega added. “Targeted operations in shipping facilities help keep dangerous narcotics and synthetic drugs off our streets and out of our communities.” Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show the agency seized approximately 19.5 kilograms of fentanyl at the border with Canada in 2024, compared to an estimated 9,570 kilograms seized at the border with Mexico. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed former Mountie Kevin Brosseau as the country’s first fentanyl czar on Tuesday, saying in a statement the drug has “torn apart communities and families across Canada and the United States.” The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that “while less than one per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, any amount of fentanyl is too much.” Brosseau is expected to co-ordinate with all levels of government in Canada and work with American counterparts to disrupt the cross-border trade of the drug, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said.
