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  4. CBP Officers Seize Nearly $280K in Hard Drugs

CBP Officers Seize Nearly $280K in Hard Drugs

Release Date
Tue, 03/31/2015

TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Nogales arrested three Mexican nationals in connection to two weekend smuggling attempts involving a combined $280,000 worth of hard drugs.

Nearly 20 pounds of meth were recovered from within the firewall of a smuggling vehicle that was stopped by CBP officers at the Port of Nogales

Nearly 20 pounds of meth were recovered from within the firewall of a smuggling vehicle that was stopped by CBP officers at the Port of Nogales

After officers at the Mariposa crossing referred Mario Ramon Parra-Lopez, 50, and his 32-year-old passenger, Victor Preciado-Damian, for a secondary inspection of a Chevrolet SUV on March 28, a CBP narcotics detection canine helped locate nearly 20 pounds of cocaine, worth $208,000, in the vehicle’s dashboard.

Mariposa officers also arrested Gilberto Barcelo-Preciado, 22, of Cajeme, Sonora, Mexico, after finding nearly 20 pounds of methamphetamine, valued at almost $72,000, in the firewall of his Chrysler sedan.

Officers processed both vehicles and all drugs for seizure, and referred all subjects 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