TUCSON, Ariz. — Four Mexican nationals were apprehended in separate incidents late last week for attempting to smuggle a combined 98-plus pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States.
CBP officers assigned to the DeConcini crossing located and seized more than 22 pounds of meth from within a non-factory compartment inside of a smuggling vehicle.
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations working at the Port of Nogales commercial facility referred a 42-year-old Mexican man for further inspection of his Lincoln sport utility vehicle on Sept. 3. During the inspection, officers found nearly 37 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $385,000, inside the vehicle’s rocker panels.
Sept. 4, a 46-year-old Mexican woman was referred for additional inspection of her Buick SUV at the Dennis DeConcini crossing. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle’s trunk, officers located more than 22 pounds of methamphetamine worth in excess of $67,000.
Later that same day, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 29-year-old Mexican woman and her 27-year-old female Mexican passenger for further inspection of a Buick SUV. The search led to the discovery of 39 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $116,000.
Officers seized all drugs and vehicles involved and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.