U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizona’s Port of Nogales apprehended two persons involved in separate failed attempts to smuggle methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States.
Officers working at the Dennis DeConcini crossing Thursday afternoon referred a male 17-year-old Legal Permanent Resident Alien for a secondary inspection of his Chevy sedan when he attempted to enter the United States. During the inspection, a CBP canine alerted to an odor it was trained to detect, which led to the discovery of more than 41 pounds of meth. Officers found the drugs, worth more than $124,000, throughout the vehicle. Officers arrested the subject and turned him over to Santa Cruz County sheriffs for local prosecution.
Saturday morning, officers at the Mariposa Crossing referred a 31-year-old U.S. woman, presently living in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, for further inspection of her Honda sedan. A CBP canine alerted officers to almost 41 pounds of cocaine, worth nearly $462,000, in the vehicle’s rear quarter panels. Officers arrested the woman for narcotics smuggling, and turned her over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
In both incidents, CBP officers seized the drugs and vehicles.