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  4. CBP Officers Find Nearly 5 lbs of Heroin in Suitcase

CBP Officers Find Nearly 5 lbs of Heroin in Suitcase

Release Date
Wed, 11/19/2014

NOGALES, Ariz. — A female U.S. citizen from Nogales, Arizona was apprehended Monday for attempting to smuggle nearly five pounds of heroin into the United States.

Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations at the Port of Nogales’ DeConcini crossing referred Maria Marcela Amaya-Diaz, 42, for a secondary inspection of the 2011 Chevy Impala she was driving. In the vehicle’s trunk, officers discovered five packages of heroin worth an estimated $69,750.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and turned Amaya-Diaz over to U.S. 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: Feb 03, 2021