San Luis, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of San Luis apprehended a 25-year-old woman attempting to enter the U.S. on Monday morning with four minor children and 48 pounds of illegal drugs.
After officers referred the woman for a secondary inspection of her Acura sedan, a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to multiple packages of suspected narcotics in the vehicle’s rocker panels. The drugs turned out to be approximately $144,000 worth of methamphetamine.
Officers arrested the woman for narcotics smuggling and turned her over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. CBP officers also seized the drugs and vehicle, the minor children were turned over to a family member.
Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.