San Luis, Arizona - U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, officers arrested four Mexican nationals and three U.S. citizens for separate alleged attempts to smuggle nearly 387 pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl through Arizona Ports of Entry worth nearly $948K over the long holiday weekend.
Officers at the Port of Lukeville referred a 31-year-old Caborca, Sonora, Mexico, man for additional inspection of his Dodge truck, as he attempted to enter the U.S. through the port early Friday morning. Following a positive alert by a CBP narcotics detection canine to a scent it is trained to detect, the subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of more than 50 packages of drugs within the truck’s frame rails. The drugs were determined to be nearly 56 pounds of methamphetamine, worth nearly $92,000.
presence of 56 pounds of meth within
the frame rails of a smuggling vehicle
Earlier that morning, officers at the Port of San Luis referred an 18-year-old male for an additional search of his Dodge sedan as he attempted to enter the U.S. After a CBP narcotics detection canine alerted officers to the presence of drugs, a search led to the discovery of 80 packages hidden inside the vehicle’s doors. The contents were determined to be more than 81 pounds of meth, worth more than $134,000.
That afternoon, officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing’s Pedestrian area selected a 37-year-old Phoenix woman for an additional inspection as she attempted to enter the U.S. through the port. A positive alert by a CBP canine led to the removal of a single package of more than two pounds of what was determined to be fentanyl. The value of the drugs was almost $25,000.
Later in the evening, officers at the Dennis DeConcini Crossing referred a 31-year-old Mexican female for an additional search of her KIA compact sedan. The search led to the seizure of nearly 14 pounds of meth from the vehicle’s spare tire, worth almost $23,000.
Saturday morning, officers at the DeConcini Crossing selected a 36-year-old Indio, California man for a search of his Toyota sedan. A positive alert by a canine led officers to discover more than 180 packages of drugs littered throughout the vehicle. The packages were determined to be almost 135 pounds of meth, worth more than $222,000.
Later that morning, officers at the Port of Lukeville referred a 38-year-old Mexican female for additional inspection of her Ford SUV. A positive alert by a CBP canine led officers to discover more than 69 pounds of meth, worth nearly $115,000 within the back quarter panel.
And on Sunday morning, officers at the DeConcini Crossing referred a 29-year-old Mexican woman for a search of her Nissan SUV. A CBP canine led officers to discover a dozen packages of cocaine within the floorboard, which weighed nearly 30 pounds, worth almost $338,000.
pounds of cocaine from the
floorboard of a smuggling
vehicle
Officers seized the drugs and vehicles, while the subjects were arrested and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.