TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested two Mexican nationals and two U.S. citizens during separate recent attempts to smuggle methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and marijuana through the Port of Nogales.
Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing on Feb. 6 selected a Pontiac SUV, driven by a 35-year-old man from Navojoa, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection. After a narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs, officers found nearly 8 pounds of cocaine, worth $80,000, and more than five pounds of methamphetamine, worth nearly $16,000, in the SUV’s rocker panel.
CBP officers at the Port of Douglas discover more than 117 pounds of marijuana in the floorboard and rear quarter panel of a smuggling vehicle.
On Feb. 8, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 26-year-old man from Nogales, Arizona, for further inspection of his Suzuki sedan and discovered more than 117 pounds of marijuana, valued at nearly $59,000, in the floorboard and rear quarter panel.
Earlier that day, officers at the Morley Pedestrian Gate referred an 18-year-old Tucson man for further questioning as he entered the United States. After a service canine alerted to the presence of drugs, officers searched the man and found two packages taped to his upper torso, one stuffed into the rear waistband of his pants, and a fourth attached to his crotch. The packages contained 4.7 pounds of heroin worth nearly $67,000.
On Feb. 9, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 47-year-old woman from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of her Hyundai sedan and located six packages of meth within the center console. The drugs, weighing nearly 11 pounds, are worth in excess of $32,000.
Officers processed the vehicles and drugs for seizure, and referred the four subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.