San Luis, Arizona - U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, officers arrested a Mexican national for an alleged attempt to smuggle almost 44 pounds of cocaine through the Port of San Luis Thursday.

Thursday afternoon, officers referred a 32-year-old San Luis, Sonora, Mexico, man for additional inspection of his Dodge van, as he attempted to enter the U.S. through the port. A CBP narcotics detection canine alerted to a scent it was trained to detect coming from the dashboard. Officers removed 18 packages of cocaine from the location. The cocaine weighed nearly 44 pounds, worth more than an estimated value of $592,000

Officers seized the drugs and vehicle, while the subject was arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.