U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working with narcotics-detection canines at Arizona’s Port of Nogales seized more than $1,100,000 worth of hard drugs with a combined weight of nearly 120 pounds, during four separate weekend incidents.
A CBP narcotics-detection canine at the Dennis DeConcini crossing Friday morning alerted officers to the back of a Honda SUV, driven by a 40-year-old Mexican man, with more than $73,000 in methamphetamine hidden within the rear seating area and spare tire.
Early the next day, officers working with a CBP narcotics-detection canine at the same crossing found almost $297,000 in cocaine within the rear quarter panels of a Ford SUV driven by a 43-year-old Nogales, Arizona man.
A short time later, officers working with a narcotics-detection canine at the Mariposa crossing found close to $450,000 worth of cocaine in center console and rear seating area of a Ford sedan driven by a 35-year-old Mexican woman.
Sunday night, officers at the DeConcini crossing referred a 26-year-old woman, residing in Mesa, Arizona as a permanent resident alien, for a secondary search of her Chrysler PT Cruiser. A CBP canine subsequently alerted officers to more than $300,000 worth of cocaine concealed within the vehicle.
Officers arrested the four subjects for narcotics smuggling and turned them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The drugs and vehicles were seized.