TUCSON, Ariz. – Customs and Border Protection officers arrested three Mexican nationals on September 17th involved in separate attempts to smuggle a combined $237,000-worth of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine through the Port of Nogales.
Officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing referred a 24-year-old woman from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for a secondary inspection of her Dodge sedan. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted to the vehicle, officers found more than 30 pounds of meth worth in excess of $91,000.
Later that day, officers at the DeConcini crossing located nearly 24 pounds of meth, valued at almost $72,000, and just under .75 pounds of heroin worth more than $12,000. Officers discovered the drugs in the back wall of a Dodge truck driven by a 78-year-old man from Ures, Sonora, Mexico.
A third seizure occurred a short time later at the Mariposa crossing involving a 24-year-old woman from Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico. A positive alert by a CBP narcotics-detection canine led to the discovery of close to 123 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $61,000, concealed within the floors of a Nissan sedan.
Officers seized all drugs and vehicles used in the smuggling attempts, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.