TUCSON, Ariz. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Nogales arrested two Mexican nationals involved in connection with failed attempts to smuggle more than 51 pounds of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States on Saturday.
bumpers of a smuggling vehicle
CBP officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing referred a 32-year-old Mexican woman for further inspection of her Chevrolet compact wagon Saturday morning. A CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to a scent it was trained to detect on the front and rear bumpers. Officers removed more than a dozen packages of cocaine, which weighed nearly 40 pounds and worth an estimated value of almost $953,000.
That afternoon, officers at the DeConcini Crossing referred a 30-year-old Mexican male for further inspection of his GMC SUV. A CBP canine alert led to the discovery of more than nine pounds of meth, worth nearly $28,000. The search of the vehicle roof also led to the seizure of more than two pounds of heroin, worth nearly $65,000.
Officers seized the drugs as well as both vehicles. The subjects were both arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.