TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Tucson man and two Mexican nationals allegedly involved in separate weekend attempts to smuggle nearly 264 pounds of cocaine and marijuana through the Mariposa crossing at the Port of Nogales.
A tractor trailer being inspected by CBP officers at the Mariposa crossing was determined to be carrying more than 73 pounds of cocaine.
Officers referred Jesus Abiram Orduno, 23, of Tucson, for a secondary inspection of his Ford SUV after a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to his vehicle July 31. During the inspection, officers located nearly 32 pounds of cocaine, worth in excess of $331,000, in the vehicle’s rear bumper.
On August 1, officers referred a tractor-trailer, driven by Marco Antonio Valenzuela, 49, of Sinaloa, Mexico, for further inspection of a produce shipment. A CBP narcotics-detection canine then alerted to officers to more than 73 pounds of cocaine, worth in excess of $765,000.
Later that day, officer referred Amparo Margarita Corella-Rascon, 31, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of her Toyota SUV. A service canine team then alerted to numerous locations throughout the vehicle, where officers found nearly 159 pounds of marijuana worth more than $79,000.
Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.