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  4. Nogales CBP Officers Seize $727K in Marijuana

Nogales CBP Officers Seize $727K in Marijuana

Release Date
Tue, 05/05/2015

TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Mariposa Commercial Facility in Nogales seized nearly $728,000 in marijuana – 1,455 pounds – from a Mexican national Monday when he attempted to enter the United States through the Port of Nogales.

CBP officers at the Mariposa Commercial Facility in Nogales locate and seize bales of marijuana co-mingled with melon shipment

CBP officers at the Mariposa Commercial Facility in Nogales locate and seize bales of marijuana co-mingled with melon shipment.

Officers discovered the marijuana, co-mingled with a load of watermelons, in a tractor-trailer driven by Antonio Vasquez-Nolan, 39, of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, following an alert by a CBP narcotics detection canine. The load contained 128 bales of marijuana shaped as melons inside cardboard boxes.

Nogales Port Director Guadalupe Ramirez congratulated his staff, saying, “The level of expertise of our people is second to none. Although our men and women at the Port of Nogales are equipped with the latest technology to help prevent illicit cargo from getting past us, it’s their attention to detail that produces results.”

Officers seized the drugs, tractor-trailer and produce, and referred Vasquez 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