They confiscate 300 kilos of fentanyl hidden in coconuts, according to authorities in Sonora, Mexico

Seizure in Puerto Libertad, Sonora.

Credit: SSP Sonora

(CNN Spanish) --

A shipment of about 300 kilograms of fentanyl that was hidden inside coconuts was confiscated this Thursday on a highway in the Mexican state of Sonora, the state Public Security Secretariat (SSP) reported in a statement.

The coconuts were aboard a truck near Puerto Libertad, a city about 155 miles by car northwest of Hermosillo.

The SSP indicated that the drug, the vehicle and two people who were on board "were made available to the Public Ministry to carry out the corresponding investigations."

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Credit: SSP Sonora

CNN is trying to obtain more details about the seizure and about the legal situation of the detainees with the Secretary of Security and the Attorney General's Office.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl is a "synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine."

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• The United States faces an epidemic of fentanyl overdose

Currently, synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are "the drugs most commonly associated with overdose deaths in the United States," according to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

In its statement, the SSP said that "this seizure represents a blow to those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the health and life of our society," although it did not detail the monetary value of the confiscated shipment.

Fentanyl