TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers at the Port of Douglas (Raul Hector Castro POE) arrested a Phoenix man and a Mexican national during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend for separate alleged attempts to smuggle more than 270 pounds of marijuana worth a combined $135,000.
Officers arrested Mark Anthony Torrez, 25, on Jan. 16 after an inspection of his Ford SUV led to the discovery of more than 58 pounds of marijuana, valued in excess of $29,000, in the vehicle’s gas tank.
The following day, officers arrested Alvaro Ivan Fierro-Sanchez, 33, of Cananea, Sonora, Mexico, after an inspection of his Jeep SUV led to the discovery of more than 212 pounds of marijuana worth just more than $106,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, and turned both subjects over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.