Customs and Border Protection officers arrested one U.S. citizen and three Mexican nationals during separate smuggling attempts at the Port of Nogales.
Officers at the Mariposa crossing referred a Chevrolet truck for a secondary inspection March 1. During the inspection, a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the presence of drugs. After officers located 10 packages of meth, weighing nearly 12 pounds and worth more than $35,000, they arrested Gabriel Arguelles-Gastelum, 47, of Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. CBP officers at the Mariposa crossing removed 12 pounds of meth from a suspect vehicle
On Feb. 27, officers at the Mariposa crossing arrested Tomas Robles-Vea, 49, of Benjamin Hill, Sonora, Mexico, after locating nearly 17 pounds of meth (Top Picture) in his Chevrolet sedan. The drugs are valued at $49,500.Drug smugglers used the quarter panels of a smuggling vehicle to attempt to conceal 27 pounds of cocaine
Officers searched a Nissan sedan belonging to Eduardo Tabanico-Flores, 64, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, on Feb. 26 at the Dennis DeConcini crossing and found nearly 27 pounds of cocaine (bottom Picture), worth nearly $281,000, in the car’s quarter panels.
On Feb. 25, officers at the DeConcini crossing arrested a Tucson, Arizona woman after a service canine alerted to the presence of drugs in her Pontiac sedan. Daniela Ruiz, 33, attempted to enter the U.S. with nearly 35 pounds of meth. The meth is valued in excess of $104,000.
On Feb. 24, officers at the Morley pedestrian crossing seized more than three pounds of heroin from 36-year-old Richard Christian Holm of Nogales, Arizona. Officers referred Holm for further questioning as he attempted to enter the U.S. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to possible drugs, officers removed a single package of heroin wrapped around the subject’s back. The drugs are worth more than $44,000.
Officers processed all vehicles and drugs for seizure, and referred all subjects to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.