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Arizona CBP Officers Find Cocaine in Engine Compartment

Release Date: 
August 22, 2014

TUCSON, Ariz. – A 32-year-old Avondale, Arizona, woman was arrested Wednesday for attempting to smuggle $206,000 worth of cocaine and unreported U.S. currency through the Port of Nogales.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis Deconcini crossing were inspecting a Mercury SUV, driven by Paola Dena, when they found nearly 16 pounds of cocaine and a package containing $6,000 in the vehicle’s firewall.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and referred Dena to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Last modified: 
February 3, 2021
Tags: 
Border Security
Port Security
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