Gila Bend, Arizona - Border Patrol agents assigned to the Wellton Station Targeting Enforcement Unit arrested three Mexican citizens and one Guatemalan national after they attempted to smuggle nearly $84K in marijuana along State Route 85 near Gila Bend on Thursday.
At approximately 5:15 a.m., agents observed a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu travelling northbound. As agents pulled in behind the vehicle, the subjects in the Malibu immediately pulled to the side of the road and fled on foot. One of the subjects was arrested a short distance away and a cursory search of the vehicle yielded three bundles of marijuana inside the trunk.
Agents then tracked three additional subjects for several miles and eventually apprehended them along with two additional bundles of marijuana. The marijuana has a combined total weight of 167.70 pounds and is worth approximately $83,850.
subjects connected to the
drug smuggling attempt
All four subjects were unlawfully present in the United States and arrested for narcotics smuggling. The contraband and vehicle were seized.
The Wellton Station’s Target Enforcement Unit is a specialized team of agents that operates in high traffic areas of human and drug smuggling. The ultimate goal of TEU is to disrupt and degrade transnational criminal organizations operating within Wellton Station’s area of responsibility.