Nogales, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers arrested three Mexican nationals involved in separate weekend attempts to smuggle more than $300,000 in methamphetamine and marijuana through the Port of Nogales.
The first incident occurred early Aug. 6 when officers at the Dennis DeConcini crossing found nearly 58 pounds of meth, worth almost $173,000, concealed inside the back bumper of a Buick SUV driven by a 29-year-old resident of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
On Aug. 7, CBP officers working with a narcotics-detection canine at the DeConcini crossing located more than 32 pounds of meth, worth in excess of $96,000, within the cab and dashboard of a Chevy truck driven by a 34-year-old man from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.
Earlier in another Chevy truck, officers and a canine at the Nogales West Mariposa crossing discovered more than 65 pounds of marijuana, worth almost $33,000, in the vehicle’s gas tank. Officers identified the driver as a 30-year-old woman from Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico.
Officers seized the narcotics and vehicles, and turned the subjects over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.