An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Archived Content
    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.
  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. Drug Smugglers Caught by CBP Officers at the Port of Lukeville

Drug Smugglers Caught by CBP Officers at the Port of Lukeville

Release Date
Tue, 03/20/2018

TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested two Phoenix area residents after seizing more than $50,000 worth of Marijuana.

Officers discovered packages of marijuana within the shell of an ice chest
An Apache Junction woman was found
to be attempting to smuggle marijuana
inside of an ice chest

Officers referred the 52-year-old Apache Junction resident Friday for further inspection, when she attempted to enter the United States from Mexico. A CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect, resulting in officers seizing 46 pounds of marijuana. The drugs were hidden inside of an ice chest she was carrying inside of her Saturn SUV.

Saturday afternoon, officers referred a 75-year-old Scottsdale man for additional inspection of his GMC truck as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. A canine alert led to the discovery of almost 56 pounds of marijuana, worth nearly $28,000 within his vehicle’s spare tire.

Customs and Border Protection officers seized the drugs and vehicles, and turned both subjects over 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