TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two women from Douglas, Arizona and one woman from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico during separate marijuana smuggling attempts through the Port of Douglas in the past four days.
Officers assigned to the Port of Douglas located packages of marijuana hidden within the tires of a smuggling vehicle.
On March 21, officers found more than 250 packages of marijuana in a Chevrolet SUV after a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to the vehicle during a secondary inspection. Officers charge the driver, a 29-year-old Douglas woman, for transporting more than 316 pounds of marijuana worth approximately $158,000.
The day before, officers referred a 35-year-old Douglas woman for a secondary search of her Ford SUV and found nearly 115 pounds of marijuana, valued at more than $57,000, in the vehicle’s doors, seats and spare tire, and under the hood.
On March 19, officers searching an Oldsmobile sedan belonging to a 27-year-old woman from Mexico discovered a non-factory compartment within the vehicle’s floors containing more than 34 pounds of marijuana worth approximately $17,000.
Officers seized nearly 465 pounds of marijuana and vehicles, and referred the subjects to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.