Skip to main content

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    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.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. Nogales CBP Officers Seize $229K in Cocaine

Nogales CBP Officers Seize $229K in Cocaine

Release Date
Fri, 05/01/2015
22 pounds of cocaine from a smuggling vehicle referred for secondary inspection on Thursday

CBP officers at the Port of Nogales seized 22 pounds of cocaine from a smuggling vehicle referred for secondary inspection on Thursday.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing arrested Esgar Leonel Duran, 37, of Rio Rico, Arizona, after finding eight  packages of cocaine in his Toyota sedan Thursday.

A narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to nearly 22 pounds of cocaine, valued at nearly $229,000, concealed in the vehicle’s rear quarter panels.

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, and referred Duran 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