Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a U.S. citizen and two Mexican nationals from neighboring Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for weekend attempts to smuggle drugs through area ports in Nogales, Arizona.
On June 26, officers working at the Nogales West Mariposa crossing referred a 31-year-old Mexican national for an inspection of her Honda sedan and found nearly 10 pounds of cocaine, worth more than $113,000, with the help of a CBP narcotics-detection canine.
Officers at the same crossing June 25 referred a 24-year-old Mexican national for a secondary inspection of his Jeep SUV and discovered 26 pounds of heroin, worth nearly $450,000, and almost 3 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $34,000; again with assistance from a narcotics-detection canine.
An 18-year-old pedestrian from Tucson attempted to pass through the Morley gate on June 24 but was arrested after a CBP canine alerted officers to the man’s legs, wrapped with more than a pound of meth valued in excess of $3,000.
Officers seized both vehicles, all the discovered narcotics, and turned all three subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.