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  4. CBP Officers Seize More Than $513,000 in Drugs

CBP Officers Seize More Than $513,000 in Drugs

Release Date
Mon, 03/23/2015

TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Nogales seized more than $513,000 in marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine during separate smuggling attempts since March 20.  

Drug smugglers attempted to use the rear quarter panels of a vehicle to hide 25 pounds of cocaine

Drug smugglers attempted to use the rear quarter panels of a vehicle to hide 25 pounds of cocaine.

On March 20, officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 21-year-old Chandler, Arizona man for further inspection of his Dodge sedan. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs, officers removed 14 packages of marijuana weighing more than 25 pounds and valued at nearly $13,000.

At about the same time, DeConcini officers referred a 38-year-old male Mexican national for additional inspection of his Ford van and found nearly 35 pounds of meth valued at more than $104,000.

Earlier that day, DeConcini officers referred a 31-year-old Rio Rico, Arizona man for further inspection of his Ford SUV. During the inspection, a canine helped officers locate nearly 191 pounds of marijuana valued at more than $95,000.

Also on Friday, officers at the Morley Pedestrian crossing referred a 13-year-old Nogales, Arizona girl for a search and located four packages of methamphetamine taped to her upper and lower body.  The drugs weight was nearly 2.25 pounds and worth more than $6,700.

On March 21, officers at the Mariposa crossing referred a 34-year-old Mexican man for an additional search of his Chevrolet truck. A canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs in the rear of the vehicle that turned out to be more than 25 pounds of cocaine valued at nearly $263,000.

At about the same time, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 36-year-old Tucson woman for further inspection of her Hyundai where a canine alerted to drugs within the vehicle’s quarter and rocker panels. Officers removed 14 packages of marijuana weighing more than 63 pounds and valued at nearly $32,000.

Officers seized all drugs and vehicles, and referred the subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021