TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Mexican national and three U.S. citizens involved in separate weekend attempts to smuggle heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine through the Dennis DeConcini crossing in Nogales, Arizona.
from the rear cargo area of a smuggling vehicle
Officers referred a 27-year-old man from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, for a secondary inspection of his Hyundai SUV on Sept. 9. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s rear cargo area, officers found close to 160 pounds of cocaine, worth nearly $1.8 million.
Earlier on Sept. 9, a CBP canine helped officers locate more than 17 pounds of meth, valued in excess of $52,000, in the front wheel wells of a Dodge van driven by a 36-year-old man from Nogales, Arizona.
A third seizure Friday at the DeConcini pedestrian crossing involved a 16-year-old female from Nogales, Arizona, with almost 3 pounds of heroin, worth nearly $48,000, in her undergarments.
On Sept. 10, officers at the DeConcini pedestrian lanes referred a 32-year-old woman from Casa Grande, Arizona, for further inspection and discovered almost half-a-pound of meth in her underwear. Officers estimated the drugs to be worth more than $1,300.
Officers seized all drugs and vehicles used in the smuggling attempts, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
