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  4. Yuma Sector Agents Arrest Permanent Resident Attempting to Smuggle Methamphetamines

Yuma Sector Agents Arrest Permanent Resident Attempting to Smuggle Methamphetamines

Release Date
Wed, 05/13/2020

YUMA, Ariz. – Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents from Wellton Station working at the immigration checkpoint on Interstate 8 seized methamphetamine in an attempted drug smuggling event on Tuesday, May 12.

Tuesday evening, a Border Patrol canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect coming from a 2008 Dodge sedan with a single occupant. Agents conducted a secondary inspection of the vehicle and discovered 50 packages containing methamphetamine hidden in the vehicle’s passenger and driver side rocker panels.  The drugs weighed more than 56 pounds with an estimated street value of $113,000.

Agents removed 56 pounds of meth from inside of a vehicle stopped at the I-8 Immigration checkpoint
Agents removed 56 pounds of meth
from inside of a vehicle stopped by agents
at the I-8 Immigration checkpoint

The male driver, a 38-year-old Lawfully Admitted Permanent Residence (LAPR) alien from Mexico, was arrested on drug smuggling charges, and the narcotics and vehicle were seized.

LAPRs can legally be deported if they violate U.S. immigration laws. LAPRs can be placed into removal proceedings if they have been convicted of two separate crimes categorized as a "crime of moral turpitude" or a single "aggravated felony.” More information can be obtained through researching the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) through the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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 official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021