San Luis CBP Intercepts 45 Pounds of Cocaine

SAN LUIS, ARIZ.—Two Mexican nationals were arrested yesterday at the Port of San Luis after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered 45 pounds of cocaine in the rocker panels of their vehicle.

After a 33-year-old man and his 23-year-old girlfriend were referred for a secondary inspection of a Chevrolet sedan they were using to cross the U.S. border, officers found 18 packages of cocaine worth an estimated $410,000.

CBP officers assigned to the Port of San Luis locate cocaine within the frame of a smuggling vehicle.

The drugs and vehicle were seized. The couple was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

Individuals arrested may be charged by complaint, the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity, which raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Customs and Border Protection 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.