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  4. Yuma Sector Checkpoint Agents Arrest Permanent Resident Smuggling Methamphetamine

Yuma Sector Checkpoint Agents Arrest Permanent Resident Smuggling Methamphetamine

Release Date
Mon, 06/15/2020

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

A Border Patrol agent referred a Toyota Prius for inspection after questioning the driver. A Border Patrol canine alert prompted the agents to search the vehicle where they discovered 27 packages of methamphetamine in the backside quarter panels and frame rails. The narcotics weighed almost 24 pounds with an estimated street value of nearly $48,000.

Agents seized 24 pounds of meth from a vehicle stopped at the immigration checkpoint
Agents seized 24 pounds of meth
from a vehicle stopped at the
immigration checkpoint

The male driver, an 18-year-old Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence (LAPR) from Mexico, was arrested on drug smuggling charges. The narcotics and the vehicle were seized.

LAPR’s can legally be deported if they violate U.S. immigration laws. LAPR’s 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.

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