Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Lukeville arrested three individuals for separate attempts to smuggle a combined 480 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $240,000.
On Friday evening, officers referred a 63-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona man for further inspection of his Ford motor-home as he attempted to enter the U.S. from Mexico. After a CBP narcotics-detection canine alerted officers to a bed in the RV, they found close to 344 pounds of marijuana worth almost $172,000.
On Sunday afternoon, officers referred a 35-year-old Tucson woman for a secondary search of her Mercury sedan. Officers working with a CBP narcotics-detection canine then located multiple packages of marijuana in the backseats and trunk. In all, officers removed more than 85 pounds of marijuana worth almost $43,000.
Later that afternoon, a 26-year-old woman from San Antonio, Texas, was escorted to a secondary search area for officers to search her Toyota sedan. A canine team helped officers find more than 50 pounds of marijuana, valued in excess of $25,000, in the trunk’s spare tire well and luggage.
Officers arrested all three subjects and turned them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Officers also seized the drugs and vehicles.