NOGALES, Ariz. — Weekend seizures of methamphetamine and heroin at the Port of Nogales resulted in the capture of more than 59 pounds of meth and nearly eight pounds of heroin, within four separate cases. The drugs have an estimated total value of $1,024,000.
Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred Juana Banda-Banda, 34, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for additional inspection of her Nissan SUV. After a CBP narcotic detection canine alerted to the vehicle’s spare tire, officers found eight packages of meth totaling nearly 12 pounds, worth an estimated $180,700.
Saturday, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred Mireya Justina Corrales-Aguirre, 33, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for an additional search of her Chrysler sedan. After a service canine alerted to the presence of drugs within the undercarriage of the vehicle, a total of 12 packages of drugs were removed from the vehicle’s frame. Six of them contained more than seven pounds of heroin, worth approximately $102,000 and another six packages contained nearly seven pounds of meth, worth more than $105,000.
Later Saturday, Marisol Garcia-Montano, 30, of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, was referred for further inspection of her Honda sedan when she entered through the DeConcini crossing. A CBP canine team led officers to 18 packages of meth within the vehicle’s rocker panels, weighing more than 15 pounds and having a value of more than $238,000.
Sunday, officers stopped a Dodge SUV crossing through the Mariposa crossing for further inspection. A search by a service canine led officers to the discovery of 21 packages of meth in the cargo area weighing nearly 26 pounds with an estimated value of more than $398,000.
The vehicles and drugs were seized and all four subjects were referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements’ Homeland Security Investigations.
CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.