TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Mexican national man and a Nogales, Arizona woman during separate attempts to smuggle methamphetamine through the Port of Nogales on Jan. 26.
A narcotics detection canine assisted CBP officers to nearly 47 pounds of meth, that was hidden within the rear cargo area of an SUV.
Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing selected a GM SUV, driven by Jose Joaquin Fuentes-Balbastro, 40, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection. A CBP narcotics detection canine then alerted to the presence of drugs, leading officers to find nearly 47 pounds of meth, worth nearly $140,000, in the SUV’s rear cargo area.
Later, officers at the Mariposa crossing referred Latasha Monae Velasco, 25, of Nogales, Arizona, for further inspection of her Honda SUV and discovered 37 packages of meth weighing 36.5 pounds, worth nearly $110,000, in the SUV’s wheel wells.
Officers processed the vehicles and drugs for seizure, and referred both subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.