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  4. Smuggler Caught with $1.2M Worth of Marijuana

Smuggler Caught with $1.2M Worth of Marijuana

Release Date
Wed, 01/03/2018

TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested a Phoenix man attempting to smuggle more than a ton of marijuana, over the weekend.

Saturday afternoon, officers referred a 55-year-old man for further inspection of his motorhome as he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. After a CBP canine alerted officers to an odor it was trained to detect, they removed more than 120 bundles of marijuana from the storage compartments, walls, and floor of the motorhome. The drugs weighed almost 2,448 pounds and are worth nearly $1,224,000.

Officers arrested the subject and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Officers also seized the drugs and the vehicle.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security 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.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021