Tijuana municipal police seized approximately 30 kilograms of fentanyl during a security operation in the Camino Verde neighborhood on Monday, June 16. Officers detained one person and confiscated additional drugs, weapons, and cash at a property on Calle del Refugio. The bust comes as Tijuana continues to serve as a primary corridor for fentanyl trafficking into the United States.
Patrol Officers Found Fentanyl Stash on Calle del Refugio
The seizure began when officers from the municipal police department spotted suspicious activity at a residence on Calle del Refugio in Colonia Camino Verde, an area in Tijuana’s eastern zone. Upon approaching the property, police discovered roughly 30 kilograms of fentanyl along with smaller quantities of crystal methamphetamine and what authorities described as cocaine.
Officers also found firearms and an undisclosed amount of cash at the location. One individual was detained at the scene and turned over to the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) for further investigation. Tijuana’s municipal public safety secretary confirmed the operation through official channels but did not release the suspect’s name.
Camino Verde sits in a section of eastern Tijuana that has seen repeated cartel activity. The neighborhood borders several colonias where law enforcement operations have intensified over the past two years. Local residents have reported increased police and military presence in the area since early 2025.
Tijuana Remains Mexico’s Top Fentanyl Seizure City
This seizure fits a pattern that has made Tijuana the single most active city in Mexico for fentanyl confiscations. According to data from Mexico’s federal security cabinet, Baja California led all Mexican states in fentanyl seizures in both 2023 and 2024. The vast majority of those seizures occurred in Tijuana, where rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have competed for control of trafficking routes into San Diego County.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has identified the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry as the two busiest fentanyl smuggling crossings on the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Most fentanyl entering the United States through these crossings originates from clandestine labs in Sinaloa and Jalisco. But Tijuana functions as the final staging point, where bulk quantities are broken down, repackaged, and moved across the border in vehicles, on foot, or through cross-border tunnels.
The 30-kilogram haul on Monday is significant by local standards. Tijuana police, who are a municipal force with limited jurisdiction compared to state and federal agencies, do not typically make seizures of this size. Most large fentanyl busts in Baja California involve the Mexican military (SEDENA), the National Guard, or the FGE working with federal prosecutors. A municipal police seizure of this volume suggests either a tip or a patrol that stumbled onto an active stash house.
Fentanyl seizures in Tijuana have spiked since 2022, when the Sinaloa Cartel fractured into warring factions following the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán López. That internal conflict, which escalated further after the July 2024 capture of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, has driven violence in Tijuana and created instability in the drug supply chain. Competing groups have fought over warehouse locations, smuggling routes, and local distribution networks.
Eastern Tijuana Colonias See Repeated Drug Operations
Camino Verde and surrounding colonias like Mariano Matamoros, Sánchez Taboada, and El Florido have become frequent targets for law enforcement sweeps. These neighborhoods, located far from the tourist zones near the border crossing and Avenida Revolución, are largely residential and working-class. They sit along transportation corridors that connect Tijuana’s industrial eastern edge with routes leading to the Otay Mesa port of entry.
For residents of Tijuana, including the thousands of U.S. citizens and other English speakers who live in colonias across the city, operations like Monday’s seizure are a regular feature of daily life. Police checkpoints, military convoys, and helicopter patrols have become routine in eastern Tijuana. The operations occasionally cause temporary road closures and detours on major routes like Boulevard 2000.
The detained individual remains in FGE custody as prosecutors evaluate charges. Authorities have not disclosed whether the investigation connects to a broader cartel network or whether additional arrests are expected. The seized fentanyl, weapons, and cash will be cataloged as evidence in the ongoing state-level case. This story was first reported by Cadena Noticias.